Clinicopathologic study of 53 cases of Brenner's tumors of the ovary

Features of ovarian Brenner tumors: Experience of a single tertiary center

Objective:

Brenner tumors are rare neoplasms of the ovary. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of Brenner tumors.

Materials and Methods:

The clinical features of 22 patients who were treated in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology Department between 2005 and 2015 were evaluated retrospectively from hospital medical records.

Results:

The patients were aged 34 to 79 years at the time of diagnosis and the mean age was 55.1 years. Two (9.1%) patients were pre-menopausal, five (22.7%) were peri-menopausal, and 25 (68.2%) patients were postmenopausal. One patient was pregnant. Twenty of the neoplasms were benign, one was malignant, and one was both malignant and benign. There was no recurrence in the malignant cases. Six (27.2%) patients had mixed tumors consisting of Brenner tumor and another ovarian pathology. Specifically, the other component of these tumors was mucinous cystadenoma in four patients, endometriosis externa in one patient, and high-grade serous papillary cyst adenocarcinoma in one patient.

Conclusion:

Brenner tumors are usually incidental benign pathologic findings of surgical procedures in postmenopausal women. They can be found with other ovarian pathologies such as mucinous ovarian tumors and can coexist with other female genital tumors. Further studies are needed to completely understand the clinical features of Brenner tumors.

Imaging in gynecological disease (7): clinical and ultrasound features of Brenner tumors of the ovary

OBJECTIVES

To describe clinical and ultrasound features of Brenner tumors of the ovary.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, the databases of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) studies and one tertiary center were searched to identify patients who had undergone an ultrasound scan before surgery for an adnexal mass that proved to be a Brenner tumor. Twenty-eight patients with 29 Brenner tumors were included, most of which had been collected within the framework of the IOTA studies. An experienced ultrasound examiner reviewed available ultrasound images (available for 14 tumors), searching for a pattern specific to Brenner tumors.

RESULTS

Most patients were postmenopausal and asymptomatic. Twenty-four (83%) tumors were benign, two (7%) were borderline and three (10%) were malignant. Most benign tumors (17/24, 71%) contained solid components and manifested no or minimal blood flow on Doppler examination (19/24, 79%). Information about calcifications was available for 15 benign tumors, and in 13 (87%) calcifications were present. The five borderline and invasively malignant tumors contained solid components less often than did the benign ones (3/5, 60%) and were more richly vascularized on Doppler examination. Information about calcifications was available for four borderline or invasively malignant tumors, and in three (75%) calcifications were present.

CONCLUSION

We failed to demonstrate ultrasound features specific to Brenner tumors. A prospective study is needed to determine if ultrasound features of calcifications can discriminate between Brenner tumors and other types of ovarian tumor.

Case report of a malignant Brenner tumor with hyperestrogenism

A rare malignant Brenner tumor of the ovary presenting with hyperestrogenism in a 79 year old woman was examined immunohistochemically and by light and electron microscopy. High pre-operative serum and urinary estrogen concentrations, low serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, and histologically confirmed atypical endometrial hyperplasia suggested the presence of hyperestrogenism. The reduction in serum and urinary estrogen and the increase in serum LH and FSH concentrations after tumor removal confirmed that the tumor was synthesizing estrogen. Histologically, the malignant element was predominantly a squamous cell carcinoma. Transitional cell carcinoma was partially found on the cyst wall. There was a spectrum of morphologic changes between benign and malignant elements with an intermediate area with a proliferating Brenner tumor. Immunohistochemically, only the carcinoembryonic antigen was positive exclusively on the malignant element as well as in the microcyst in the benign epithelial cord, whereas all of the markers for germ cell tumors were negative. The ultrastructural features of the stromal cells were of two types: fibroblasts and steroid-producing cells. The latter type of cells might correspond morphologically to estrogen-producing cells. The present case is the fourth report showing a malignant Brenner tumor combined with apparent hyperestrogenism.

Brenner tumor of the ovary: immunoanalysis of steroidogenic enzymes in 23 cases

Immunohistochemical analysis of cytochromes P-450 aromatase and P-450 17 alpha-hydroxylase, which catalyze the production of estrogens and androgens, respectively, was performed for 23 cases of ovarian Brenner tumor. Immunoreactivity for P-450 aromatase was observed in the epithelial cells of the tumor distinctly in two cases and faintly in four cases, while immunoreactivity for P-450 17 alpha-hydroxylase was seen in two cases. No immunoreactivity was observed in the stromal cells of the tumors, nor were luteinized cells observed in the cases examined. No correlation was observed between the immunoreactivity of cytochromes P-450 in the epithelial cells of the tumor and endometrial abnormalities. These findings, together with a review of the literature, suggest that the usual Brenner tumor is not associated with specific steroidogenesis. Rare massive Brenner tumors may, however, be capable of androgenic or estrogenic activity.

Proliferative Brenner tumor or ovarian metastases? A case report

A case of low-grade superficial transitional papillomas of the urinary bladder and concomitant bilateral ovarian tumors with close similarities to the rare proliferative Brenner tumor is reported. Due to lack of benign Brenner elements, metastases from the bladder tumors were suggested. Death was apparently related to the effect of chemotherapy, and metastases were never confirmed. In review of the case, the authors found that the morphologic appearances and biological behavior of the ovarian tumors were more consistent with a proliferative Brenner tumor than with metastases. It is pointed out that a proliferative Brenner tumor should not be excluded in the absence of benign Brenner elements when other features are characteristic. Bilateral proliferating Brenner tumors are probably not reported previously. Histogenetic implications of a combined proliferative complex of bladder papillomas and Brenner tumor are briefly discussed.

Pure and mixed Brenner tumors of the ovary: clinicopathologic and histogenetic observations

Fifty-six Brenner tumors of 51 patients were analyzed. The incidence of bilaterality was 9.8%. Most tumors were smaller than 2 cm, and constituted incidental finding. Most of the patients were 30-49 years old (mean 49.7, main 44). A high incidence of associated malignant neoplasms was noticed among the patients with Brenner tumor but was considered coincidental. No evidence of hormone secretion by the tumor was found. Out of 31 tumors, 27 occupied the cortex. Urothelial metaplasia of the ovarian surface epithelium was demonstrated in one case, and continuation of the Brenner column with the surface of ovary in another. There were 12 cases of mixed Brenner tumor in this series (21.1%). The most frequent associated constituents of the mixed Brenner tumors are mucinous cystadenomas. These tumors represent a single mixed neoplasm originating in a multipotential celomic cell which proliferates and differentiates into several mullerian forms. The histogenesis of medullary and hilar Brenner tumors can be explained on the basis of celomic metaplasia. Uncertainty persists in explaining the histogenesis of Brenner tumors mixed with mature cystic teratoma.

The pathological assessment of ovarian neoplasms. I: Introduction to the common 'epithelial' tumours and analysis of benign 'epithelial' tumours

All neoplasms of the ovary encountered in a 25-year study period at the King George V Memorial Hospital were classified according to the World Health Organisation Histological Classification of Ovarian Tumours. Of these, one thousand fell into the category designated as 'common epithelial tumours'. In this report, the major clinical and pathological correlates and survival data of epithelial tumours as a whole are analysed and criteria are explained for the histological grading of the proliferating and malignant tumours. A detailed histological assessment of the 558 benign epithelial tumours is then presented.