Objective: To investigate the clinical and biological characteristics of intravenous leiomyomatosis and the treatment methods, as well as their effect on prognosis.
Methods: The clinical and pathologic data of 7 patients with intravenous leiomyomatosis of the uterus admitted to our hospital from June 1992 to June 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. All the cases were followed up.
Results: All the patients complained of pelvic mass. Three of them had enlarged uterus which was over 12 gestational week, 2 of them had prolonged menstruation and hypermenorrhea, 1 of them presented with postmenopausal bleeding. B-ultrasound examination showed 4 leiomyomas, 1 sarcoma of uterus, and 3 ovarian tumors. No intravenous leiomyomatosis within uterus was diagnosed preoperatively. A resection of the mass and a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed in 4 cases.
Conclusions: Intravenous leiomyomatosis has special and quasi-malignant biological behavior. The prognosis can be improved if the disease could be correctly diagnosed during the operation and treated with combined modality therapy and intensively followed up after operation.