primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma (PPC)

Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma (PPC) is a type of non gestational choriocarcinoma which originates in the lung. It is an extremly rare entity.

Clinical presentation

Presentation can be variable ranging from dyspnea, cough and chest pain, to weight loss. Some patients may present with hemoptysis. On occasion it may be routinely discovered as an incidental lung mass / lesion .

Pathology

Markers

Serum beta HCG levels tend to be elevated - and may drop following resection and therapy .

Management and prognosis

In contrast to gestational choriocarcinoma, primary pulmonary choriocarcinomas are considered generally unresponsive to surgical and chemotherapeutic treatment and are thought to carry a much poorer prognosis (with 5 year survival being under 5%). At the time of initial writing, resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is considered to the most effective .

Differential diagnosis

When  a suspected lung lesion shows "choriocarcinoma" on histology following biospy - the main differential consideration is metastatic choriocarcinoma to lung.

See also

• choriocarcinoma

Siehe auch:

• Chorionkarzinom
• Lungenmetastasen bei Chorionkarzinom

und weiter:

• non gestational choriocarcinoma