Struma ovarii is a rare tumor that is defined as an ovarian teratoma with a thyroid tissue component exceeding 50%. Most of these tumors are benign, with malignant struma ovarii occurring in <1% of patients. Here, we describe the case of a 49-year-old female patient with malignant struma ovarii who developed thoracic spine metastasis. She had undergone an oophorectomy and was diagnosed with struma ovarii 10 years previously. She had remained recurrence-free thereafter. At 49 years of age, she developed low back pain and was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of a spinal tumor at the Th7 level. An emergency bone biopsy led to a diagnosis of metastasis from malignant struma ovarii. External beam radiotherapy inhibited further tumor growth and there was no resulting muscle weakness. This is the first report of spinal metastasis occurring 10 years after resection of struma ovarii, indicating the need for long-term follow-up.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Weakness ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Ovariectomy ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Spinal Neoplasms ; Spine ; Struma Ovarii* ; Teratoma ; Thyroid Gland

Team-based learning (TBL) is an educational method developed to cultivate the ability to solve problems by learning and applying knowledge on one's own, as well as the ability to make decisions, take responsibility, and collaborate by working on issues in small groups. TBL in Kampo medicine was held as a special program : active learning at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Oriental Medicine. A total of 57 students participated in the TBL session. The theme of the session was the common cold with the theory of yin and yang. According to the results of a questionnaire survey, the students answered that they were able to understand the flow of diagnosis in Kampo medicine, which was the goal of the course. As a bridge from classroom lectures to clinical practice, TBL in Kampo medicine was considered to be useful in Kampo medical education.