Synchronous papillary cystadenocarcinoma of ovary and squamous cell carcinoma of lower vagina: first report of an unusual chance occurrence

Summary

Synchronously occurring primary gynecological malignancies are rare, and most commonly reported synchronous female genital malignancies are ovarian and endometrial. It is postulated that the extended Mullerian system, comprising the ovarian epithelium, fallopian tube, uterine corpus and cervix, may respond as a single morphological unit to a carcinogenic process, thus producing primary tumours at above-mentioned sites in varying combinations.  We are reporting for the first time, an unusual occurrence of synchronous papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary and sqaumous cell carcinoma of lower vagina. Clinical implications of this case along with the multicentric concept of tumourigenesis and diagnosis of synchronous female genital malignancies are briefly discussed. Index case is probably a chance occurrence, as it cannot be explained by the current concepts of muticentric tumourogenesis in the female genital tract. Nonetheless, further research is warranted to explain simultaneous tumourogenesis in embryologically different tissues.