Abstract
We present a unique case of an aggressive scapular osteoblastoma that produced β-hCG as a paraneoplastic manifestation in a 20-year-old woman. Serum β-hCG was found to be elevated during presurgical workup and consequently delayed surgical resection of the increasingly painful tumor because of suspected pregnancy. The paraneoplastic production of β-hCG was later proven by positive immunohistochemical stain of β-hCG in a curettage specimen and normalization of β-hCG levels after surgical resection of the aggressive osteoblastoma. Production of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) has been reported in several carcinomas and sarcomas but, to our knowledge, it has not been reported in osteoblastoma in the English-language literature.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Morris, C.D., Hameed, M.R., Agaram, N.P. et al. Elevated β-hCG associated with aggressive Osteoblastoma. Skeletal Radiol 46, 1187–1192 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2647-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-017-2647-0