Ovarian carcinoma presenting with isolated contralateral inguinal lymph node metastasis: a case report

ABSTRACT

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Ovarian carcinoma usually presents at an advanced stage with diffuse intraabdominal manifestations. We report a patient who presented with a right groin swelling.</p><p><b>CLINICAL PICTURE</b>The only clinical abnormality was an enlarged right inguinal lymph node (3 x 2 cm), for which excision biopsy revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed an enlarged left ovarian lesion (9.0 x 6.4 cm).</p><p><b>TREATMENT AND OUTCOME</b>Laparotomy with total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophrectomy and partial omentectomy were performed. Histology confirmed left ovarian adenocarcinoma, consistent with the earlier histology of the right inguinal lymph node. There were no other sites of involvement. Postoperatively, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy for treatment of FIGO Stage IIIc ovarian carcinoma and is clinically disease free 13 months after surgery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Ovarian cancer presenting with inguinal lymph node metastases is uncommon. Ovarian cancer which manifests solely as a contralateral inguinal lymph node metastasis has not been previously reported. This case illustrates a rare presentation of ovarian carcinoma, and underscores the need to consider ovarian carcinoma in the differential diagnosis of women with inguinal lymphadenopathy.</p>