A 14-year-old girl with premature ovarian insufficiency but with a positive pregnancy test.

Abstract

Childhood cancer survivors are at risk for premature ovarian insufficiency, especially after treatment with alkylating agents. The objective of this report is to highlight a case in which this phenomenon caused a false-positive pregnancy test. A workup was performed in a 14-year-old girl with a positive pregnancy test. She was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma of the left adrenal gland at the age of4 years. She received extensive treatment, including alkylating agents, and had been diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency. An LH/hCG suppression test was performed using high dose 17 bèta-estradiol: hCG levels normalized. The pregnancy test was false-positive due to production of low amounts of hCG by the pituitary gland as a result of high LH concentrations following premature ovarian insufficiency. It may be helpful to perform the LH/hCG suppression test to prove pituitary origin of the hCG overproduction.