Nj. Mulvany et al., INTRAVENOUS LEIOMYOMATOSIS OF THE UTERUS - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 22 CASES, International journal of gynecological pathology, 13(1), 1994, pp. 1-9
Twenty-two cases of intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) of the uterus wer
e examined at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, within a 22-year
period. The mean age of the patients was 46 years (range, 23-66). Nine
patients presented with a pelvic mass, nine with abnormal uterine ble
eding, and one with prolapse of the uterus. In three cases, the presen
ting features were unknown. Surgical exploration confirmed the presenc
e of a uterine mass (mean size, 7.8 cm) which in seven cases extended
into the broad ligament. In only 11 cases was involvement of the myome
trial vessels obvious on gross examination. However, no extension into
the iliac veins or inferior vena cava was found. In seven cases, the
tumor involved to a minimal degree the immediately adjacent or contigu
ous myometrial veins, and the diagnosis of IVL was made incidentally o
n microscropic examination. Of the 16 patients with followup (mean, 7.
5 years) all are now disease free. Five years after the diagnosis of I
VL, one patient (case 10) had a pulmonary smooth-muscle tumor resected
. Ah 22 patients were treated by surgery alone, and to date none have
died from disease. Our findings support the benign biologic behavior o
f IVL even in the presence of metastases.