Ovarian Carcinoma in an Adolescent With Transgenerational... : Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (original) (raw)

CLINICAL AND LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS

Ovarian Carcinoma in an Adolescent With Transgenerational Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol

Blatt, Julie MD; Van Le, Linda MD; Weiner, Timothy MD; Sailer, Scott MD

From the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, the Department of Pediatrics (J.B.), and the Departments of Gynecologic Oncology (L.V.), Pediatric Surgery (T.W.), and Radiation Oncology (S.S.), the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Submitted for publication August 15, 2002; accepted December 20, 2002.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Julie Blatt, M.D., Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, CB 7220, MacNider 418, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599–7220. E-mail [email protected].

Abstract

Small cell carcinoma of the ovary is rare in adolescence. The etiology of such tumors is unknown. Several reports suggest that transgenerational exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) may have deleterious effects on the genitourinary tract. The authors describe a 15-year-old girl with small cell carcinoma of the ovary whose maternal grandmother had been taking DES while she was pregnant with the patient's mother. This case, while anecdotal, suggests that a transgenerational history of DES exposure should be noted, and that granddaughters with persistent abdominal pain even during childhood may need evaluation for genital tract abnormalities.