Pelvic mass, ascites, hydrothorax: a malignant or benign condition? Meigs syndrome with high levels of CA 125.

INTRODUCTION

Abdominal-pelvic mass, ascites and pleural effusion are suggestive of malignant metastatic ovarian cancer. This triad is also present in a rare benign condition called Meigs syndrome. Rarely this condition is associated with an increased CA 125 level.

CASE REPORT: A 62-year-old woman with a history of abdominal pain underwent an ultrasound (US) examination and a chest X-ray. The imaging revealed the presence of a large pelvic mass and ascites with a monolateral pleural effusion and a high level of the tumor marker CA 125. The patient underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy, salpingoophorectomy, removal of the pelvic mass, pelvic lymphadenectomy and peritoneal biopsies. The histology showed an ovarian fibrothecoma.

DISCUSSION: The US analysis according to international ovarian tumor analysis simple rules revealed "inconclusive results"; the logistic regression model LR2 and Adnex suggested a high risk of malignancy. The presence of ascites and the size of the lesion associated with a high level of CA 125 affected the correct assessment of the risk of malignancy, exposing the patient to overtreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Meigs syndrome is characterized by the resolution of symptoms after surgical removal of the pelvic mass. However, it mimics the clinical picture of a malignant metastatic ovarian cancer. Clinicians have to exclude ovarian cancer and recognize the syndrome to reduce inappropriate procedures.