Giant cell arteritis of the female genital tract.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) of the female genital tract is rare with only 30 cases, including this case, documented in the literature. We present a patient who had total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for an ovarian cyst and on histologic examination GCA involving the arteries of the myometrium, cervical stroma, ovaries and tubes was unexpectedly discovered. Upon questioning of the patient and further investigations it became clear that the patient did have symptoms and signs suggestive of systemic GCA including fatigue, low-grade fever, weight loss and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Peritoneal tuberculosis--an uncommon disease that may deceive the gynecologist.

Objectives: To document women with peritoneal tuberculosis mimicking ovarian malignancy and to review pertinent literature.

Study Design: The records of women with peritoneal tuberculosis who were managed at the Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel between January 2000 and December 2001 were reviewed.

Results: Four patients with peritoneal tuberculosis mimicking ovarian malignancy were encountered.

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina: case report and review of literature.

Primary vaginal malignant melanoma is rare, with < 250 reported cases to date. It accounts for < 1% of all melanomas in women, < 10% of all female genital tract melanomas, and < 3% of all vaginal malignancies. Its clinical behavior is notoriously more aggressive than that of cutaneous and vulvar melanoma, with a 5-year survival rate ranging from 5% to 25%.

Peritoneal tuberculosis mimicking ovarian carcinoma with ascites and elevated serum CA-125: case report and review of literature.

Peritoneal tuberculosis is rare in the western world, although its incidence has been increasing in recent years. The presenting signs and symptoms, imaging examinations and CA-125 status in peritoneal tuberculosis may resemble that of ovarian carcinoma. Thus, the possibility of peritoneal tuberculosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma, especially in women immigrants from countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis.