Case Report: 18F-FDG PET/CT and Laparoscopic Nephron Sparing Surgery in the Management of Bleeding From Renal Metastases of Choriocarcinoma

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma is a cancer that usually occurs in the uterus during pregnancy. Although choriocarcinoma with renal metastasis and spontaneous renal hemorrhage is very rare, it can occur. We describe a rare case of metastatic choriocarcinoma, wherein the patient presented with acute abdominal pain due to a subcapsular hematoma secondary to a bleeding renal metastasis. We performed a laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery to remove the tumor and control the bleeding. A retrospective analysis revealed that metastasis was detected on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT, but not on CT alone. To our knowledge, a case of choriocarcinoma with such symptoms and treatment has not been described in recent literature. Our case illustrates that acute bleeding from a renal metastasis can be effectively managed by laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery. It also demonstrates the advantage 18F-FDG PET/CT may have in the evaluation of metastatic choriocarcinoma.