She Believed She Was 20 Weeks Pregnant, But Doctors Found a Rare Aggressive Tumor Instead

[Article déjà publié le 22
août 2025]

Woman Thinks She's Pregnant, But Actually Has a Tumor

Three months after experiencing heavy, intermittent menstrual bleeding and a swollen stomach, a 36-year-old woman from India went to see a doctor. After carrying out several tests, they revealed that she was pregnant with a 20-week fetus.

If the first ultrasound showed an ectopic pregnancy, that is to say that the embryo develops not in the uterus as is generally the case but outside it, most often in the fallopian tube, other doctors realized that the mass observed was not a fetus, but a tumor.

A rare tumor in the right ovary

Indeed, in a report published on July 28 in the journal Oncosciencedoctors explain that they have discovered a tumor in the right ovary, which is similar to a choriocarcinoma. This type of tumors, described as “rare, distinct and very aggressive,” form mainly from the cells that form the placenta during pregnancy, and are often present in young women, specify the authors of the study.

There are two types of choriocarcinoma: gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma (GOC) and non-gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma (NGOC). In the case of this patient, it is an NGOC, which represents less than 0.6% of malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary and which is considered more dangerous.

Why was this tumor confused with a pregnancy?

Doctors said they successfully removed the tumor, along with the surrounding uterus, ovaries and lymph nodes, before the cancer cells grew in other parts of the body. A timely rescue, especially since choriocarcinomas are known to grow very quickly.

But then, how did the first tests declare that this woman was pregnant? According to the media GizmodoNGOC, although not linked to pregnancy, causes a high production of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone also present in significant quantities in a pregnant woman. Some pregnancy tests detect the presence of hCG to confirm pregnancy. This is why producing this hormone in other situations can result in a false positive result.

Source: Gizmodo