Huang HQ, Gong FM, Sun CT, Xuan Y, Li L. Brain and scalp metastasis of cervical cancer in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(19): 103946 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i19.103946]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Feng-Ming Gong, MD, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Department Related Diseases of Women and Children Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China. 18180602061@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Brain and scalp metastasis of cervical cancer in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection: A case report
Hui-Qiong Huang, Feng-Ming Gong, Chun-Tang Sun, Yu Xuan, Lin Li
Hui-Qiong Huang, Feng-Ming Gong, Chun-Tang Sun, Yu Xuan, Lin Li, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Department Related Diseases of Women and Children Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Huang HQ wrote the manuscript; Gong FM designed the research study; Huang HQ, Xuan Y, and Li L analyzed the data; Sun CT made supervisory contributions to the manuscript; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Supported by the Sichuan Science and Technology Program, No. 2022NSFSC0797.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Feng-Ming Gong, MD, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Department Related Diseases of Women and Children Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China. 18180602061@163.com
Received: December 5, 2024 Revised: January 28, 2025 Accepted: February 19, 2025 Published online: July 6, 2025 Processing time: 104 Days and 15.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the most common cancer in females living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Cervical cancer is classified as an acquired immune deficiency syndrome-defining disease. Brain metastases (BMs) from cervical cancer are extremely rare, with an incidence rate of approximately 0.63%, and there is limited information on optimal treatment protocols and patient outcomes. Since brain lesions are sequestered behind the blood-brain barrier, multimodal treatment approaches are crucial to help improve the prognosis of cervical cancer in patients with BMs who are also living with HIV.
CASE SUMMARY
A 42-year-old Chinese female with HIV infection was diagnosed with stage IIIC1r cervical cancer in March 2022 based on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics system. Fourteen months after undergoing the initial treatment with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy in January 2024, the patient presented to a local hospital with a severe explosive headache. The patient underwent craniotomy and postoperative pathological examination confirmed metastasis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma to the brain on February 1, 2024. Following surgery, the patient received external beam radiotherapy for the metastatic lesions. The patient has been under observation for 7 months with no evidence of tumor recurrence.
CONCLUSION
Females living with HIV are more than three times more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer. Due to the scarcity of cervical cancer BMs, therapeutic protocol experience is limited. In addition to the existence of the blood-brain barrier, the treatment of cervical cancer BMs appears to be exceptionally complex, and a multi-modal treatment approach consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation may help prolong patients’ life. For females living with HIV, antiretroviral therapy should be prioritized, as recommended by the Center for Disease Control in China. An intact immune system and a high CD4+ count are positive indicators of treatment response and tumor reduction. The overall survival of patients with cervical cancer after brain metastasis is approximately 3-5 months. However, owing to multimodal therapy and the use of antiretroviral therapy, the patient reported in this case showed no signs of recurrence after prolonged follow-up.
Core Tip: A 42-year-old Chinese female patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection, was diagnosed with stage IIIC1r cervical cancer based on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Fourteen months after concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the tumor metastasized to the brain. The patient underwent a craniotomy and radiotherapy for postoperative metastatic lesions. Metastasis of cervical cancer to the brain is relatively rare, and the treatment of cervical cancer brain metastases is complicated. A multimodal treatment approach consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy may need to be considered to prolong such patients’ life. Additionally, antiretroviral therapy should be implemented for females living with human immunodeficiency virus.
