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Case Reports
. 2017 Aug 30;11(1):242.
doi: 10.1186/s13256-017-1411-3.

Postmenopausal mild hirsutism and hyperandrogenemia due to granulosa cell tumor of the ovary: a case report

Mulat Adefris  1 , Elfalet Fekadu  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Postmenopausal mild hirsutism and hyperandrogenemia due to granulosa cell tumor of the ovary: a case report

Mulat Adefris et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Among classes of ovarian tumor, granulosa cell tumors are the least common. In approximately 10% of cases of granulosa cell tumor, androgen will be secreted which will present with hirsutism and hyperandrogenemia. We describe a woman with ovarian granulosa cell tumor who presented with hirsutism.

Case presentation: A 50-year-old woman of Amhara ethnicity, para III, abortion I (induced), presented with excessive hair on her face and lower abdomen of 4 years' duration which affected her quality of life. Her menopause started 7 years ago. Her body mass index was 29.8 kg/m2. She had hair on her upper lip, chin, and lower abdomen; she had a Ferriman-Gallwey score of 10. A pelvic examination revealed that her uterus was of normal size and there was no adnexal mass. Ultrasound finding: her right ovary measured 5 × 4 cm. Her serum testosterone was 254 ng/dl; she was counseled to undergo an exploratory laparotomy but she declined. She presented to our out-patient department 10 months later with a complaint of excessive vaginal bleeding of 18 days' duration. A sonographic evaluation showed a 12 by 15 cm right adnexal cystic mass. With preoperative diagnosis of testosterone-producing sex cord-stromal tumor of the ovary, an exploratory laparotomy was performed. The laparotomy revealed a 20 by 30 cm right ovarian mass with pathology result of adult granulosa cell tumor.

Conclusion: In postmenopausal women with new hirsutism that is severe or rapidly progressive, the possibility of an androgen-secreting tumor must be suspected and a thorough evaluation is needed before initiating treatment for idiopathic hirsutism.

Keywords: Granulosa cell tumor; Hirsutism; Hyperandrogenemia; Virilization.

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Not applicable.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The patient with hirsutism over her face preoperatively
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Gross view of the mass intraoperatively
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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