Bacalam Cristina, Sur Daniel, Bochis Ovidiu, Buiga Rares
Department of Medical Oncology, The Oncology Institute "Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuţă" Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, ROU.
Department of Medical Oncology, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, ROU.
Cureus. 2025 May 3;17(5):e83420. doi: 10.7759/cureus.83420. eCollection 2025 May.
The detection of incidental masses in cancer patients, such as vulvar leiomyomas, is rare and can complicate the diagnostic process. We report a case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with a large, neglected breast tumor, which raised clinical suspicion of metastatic breast cancer. A computed tomography scan showed an osteosclerotic pelvic lesion, raising concern for bone metastasis. A whole-body positron emission tomography scan revealed no bone metastasis but detected a hypermetabolic left vulvar mass, presumed to be a Bartholin cyst. Surgical excision confirmed it to be a vulvar leiomyoma. The patient underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, followed by a left radical mastectomy with significant residual tumor burden. Currently, the patient is receiving radiotherapy along with adjuvant hormonal treatment, and CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy is scheduled after the radiotherapy. When found incidentally during cancer staging, vulvar leiomyomas can cause diagnostic confusion. This case highlights the importance of a comprehensive and multidisciplinary differential diagnostic approach in the oncological assessment of cancer patients to avoid misdiagnosis and guide appropriate treatment strategies.
在癌症患者中偶然发现肿块,如外阴平滑肌瘤,是罕见的,并且会使诊断过程复杂化。我们报告一例62岁女性病例,该患者出现一个被忽视的巨大乳腺肿瘤,这引发了对转移性乳腺癌的临床怀疑。计算机断层扫描显示有一个骨硬化性盆腔病变,引起了对骨转移的担忧。全身正电子发射断层扫描显示没有骨转移,但检测到一个代谢活跃的左侧外阴肿块,推测为巴氏腺囊肿。手术切除证实其为外阴平滑肌瘤。该患者接受了乳腺癌新辅助化疗,随后进行了左乳根治性切除术,术后仍有大量残留肿瘤负荷。目前,患者正在接受放疗以及辅助激素治疗,放疗后计划进行CDK4/6抑制剂治疗。在外阴癌分期过程中偶然发现外阴平滑肌瘤时,可能会导致诊断混淆。本病例强调了在癌症患者的肿瘤学评估中采用全面、多学科的鉴别诊断方法以避免误诊并指导适当治疗策略的重要性。