Right ventricular metastasis of uterine cervical cancer: A case report

Abstract

Introduction. Cardiac metastasis of uterine cervical cancer diagnosed prior to mortality (antemortem) is extremely rare. Case report. A female patient 49 years old was brought to the Emergency Department of the Institute for Treatment and Rehabilitation Niška Banja in cardiac arrest, without a pulse and blood pressure. An electrocardiogram revealed sustained ventricular tachycardia, which was terminated by two DC shocks (100J + 150J). Anamnesis and medical history revealed that she had had her squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix removed and had subsequently received seven out of ten planned cycles of chemotherapy and twenty-eight cycles of radiotherapy. The patient was then transferred to the Coronary Unit, where cardiac ultrasound was performed. A homogenous mass measuring 31 x 50 mm was found in the right ventricle. In view of this, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed. This confirmed the presence of the tumor mass in the right ventricle. Unfortunately, only a month after being discharged from our Institute, the patient was admitted to the Clinic of Neurology due to a loss of consciousness. Computer tomography of endocranium was performed revealing metastatic brain lesions. The patient succumbed to the disease just a couple of months later. Conclusion. We presented a rare case of antemortem diagnosed right ventricle metastases in a patient with uterine cervical cancer. Setting the diagnosis in these patients is a challenge in everyday clinical practice since metastases can produce the clinical picture that masks the real etymology of uterine cervical cancer.