P seudo‐ M eigs' syndrome associated with hydropic degenerating uterine leiomyoma: A case report

Abstract Pseudo‐ M eigs' syndrome secondary to uterine leiomyoma is a rare entity. A 50‐year‐old Japanese woman presented with a 3‐month history of shortness of breath. Chest X ‐ray and magnetic resonance imaging revealed massive right pleural effusion, ascites and a large subserosal uterine myoma. She underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy. The pathology was consistent with a benign leiomyoma. The ascites and pleural effusion rapidly disappeared postoperatively. The serum interleukin‐6 level was 3.9 pg/mL before surgery and declined to 1.6 pg/mL postoperatively. Previous published work has demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin‐6 may play a role in the pathogenesis of M eigs' syndrome and that vascular endothelial growth factor may contribute to the development of pseudo‐ M eigs' syndrome due to metastatic ovarian cancer. This is the first E nglish‐language study showing the possibility that interleukin‐6 is relevant to the pathogenesis of pseudo‐ M eigs' syndrome caused by degenerating uterine leiomyoma.