The significance of sonographically thickened endometrium in asymptomatic postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between sonographic, hysteroscopic, and pathological findings in postmenopausal asymptomatic patients with sonographically thickened endometrium. METHODS: The records of postmenopausal patients who attended the Menopause Outpatient Clinic of a tertiary women's hospital in Ankara, Turkey between January 1, 2012 and December 15, 2013 were retrieved. A total of 266 postmenopausal women without vaginal bleeding underwent hysteroscopic evaluation and endometrial sampling. Patients whose pathological records indicated an endometrial thickness equal to or greater than 6 mm (double layer) on transvaginal ultrasonography without any symptoms were included in the study. RESULTS: The most frequently detected focal intrauterine lesions in asymptomatic women were endometrial polyps, which were diagnosed in 168 (63.1%) cases. Twenty-four (9%) patients were diagnosed as having simple hyperplasia, 4 (1%) atypical hyperplasia, and 8 (3%) endometrial adenocarcinoma. Two of the patients with adenocarcinoma were diagnosed based on endometrial polyps, and 6 cases showed endometrial hyperplasia on hysteroscopy, while histological examination showed endometrial carcinoma. CONCLUSION: We suggest 10.5 mm as the cutoff value for endometrial thickness and recommend hysteroscopy following dilatation and curettage to increase diagnostic efficacy and provide definitive treatment in asymptomatic postmenopausal women with thickened endometrium.

Primary and bilateral tubal carcinoma is associated with long-standing granulomatous inflammation and primary infertility: a case report.

We report a case of bilateral and primary tubal carcinoma associated with granulomatous inflammation and long-standing primary infertility. A 38-year-old woman with a 17-year history of primary infertility presented with lower abdominal pain and granulomatous inflammation in the endometrial biopsy. Bilateral adnexal masses measuring 4 and 6 cm in size were detected and the serum cancer antigen 125 level was 141 IU/ml. Laparoscopic surgical exploration and frozen section on the resected tubes revealed bilateral fallopian tube adenocarcinoma and then a staging laparotomy was performed. Histopathological examination showed a primary bilateral Grade 2 tubal serous adenocarcinoma of Stage 1b associated with granulomatous salpingitis. Primary fallopian tube carcinomas in young women are extremely rare gynecological tumors that are infrequently diagnosed prior to surgical exploration and their cause is unknown. A definitive diagnosis could be made on the histopathological examination in our case with the evidence of chronic pelvic inflammation. Our findings suggest that chronic pelvic inflammation may play a role in carcinogenesis in the tubes of infertile women.