Three cases of
giant cell arteritis involving the female genital tract of postmenopausal women are reported. The patients were 80, 64, and 57 years of age and presented with
fatigue and
anemia,
fatigue and an abdominal mass, and
fever and
weight loss, respectively. Two of the patients had palpable pelvic masses; one had an ovarian mass visible on ultrasound examination. All three patients were anemic, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was elevated in the two women in whom it was tested. Exploratory
laparotomy revealed ovarian
tumors in two patients; one had a
mucinous cystadenoma, and one had bilateral ovarian
fibromas. The third patient had a
cyst of the rete ovarii. Extensive
giant cell arteritis of the small to medium-sized arteries was found unexpectedly in the ovaries and fallopian tubes of two patients who had prior
hysterectomies and in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus of one patient. One patient was treated postoperatively with
prednisone with improvement of symptoms and a decrease in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Of the two patients who received no
therapy, one was found to have a
thoracic aortic aneurysm 5 years postoperatively, and the other was alive without symptoms 17 years after the operation.
Giant cell arteritis of the female genital tract is a rare finding in elderly women and may occur as an isolated finding or as part of generalized
giant cell arteritis.