Short Tandem Repeats Define a Gestational Origin for Metastatic Choriocarcinoma

This report presents the case of an apparently healthy female patient with a history of placenta accreta who was transferred from an outside hospital with the chief complaint of shortness of breath and a large spontaneous hemothorax requiring surgical exploration. Resection of a large, bleeding lower lobe mass identified metastatic gestational choriocarcinoma, a previously unreported cause of spontaneous hemothorax and an equally rare consequence of placenta accreta. The identification of novel genomic features associated with gestational choriocarcinoma allowed for confirmation of this subtype, which has clinical implications for surveillance and prognosis after treatment with adjuvant therapy. (C) 2019 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons