Prognosis and prognostic factors of the micropapillary pattern in patients treated for stage II and III serous borderline tumors of the ovary

Prognosis and Prognostic Factors of Serous Borderline Tumor-Micropapillary Variant: Retrospective Study of 200 Patients with Long-Term Follow-Up

Objective

To determine the oncofertility outcomes and prognostic factors in a large series of serous borderline ovarian tumor-micropapillary variant (SBOT-M) with a long-term follow-up.

Methods

Consecutive patients with SBOT-Ms treated from two affiliated hospitals of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively reviewed. Prognostic factors on invasive recurrence, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival were analyzed, and outcomes of patients treated with conservative and radical surgery were compared.

Results

From 2000 to 2020, 200 patients were identified and followed. After a median follow-up of 68 months, 81 patients relapsed. In the multivariate analyses, younger age at diagnosis and conservative surgery that preserved fertility potential were independently associated with worse DFS (p = 0.018 and <0.001, respectively). Twenty-three patients experienced invasive recurrence, and seven died of progressive disease. Multivariate analysis showed that nulliparous and advanced FIGO stage were independently adversely associated with lethal recurrence (p = 0.022 and 0.029, respectively). Only advanced FIGO stage at diagnosis was associated with worse overall survival at univariate analysis (p = 0.02). Among 61 patients attempting conception, 37 achieved 44 pregnancies and resulted in 32 live births.

Conclusions

In this series, patients with SBOT-M have an acceptable oncofertility outcomes. The use of conservative surgery was independently associated with worse DFS, but without an impact on neither invasive relapse nor on overall survival. Patients with advanced FIGO stages had a significantly higher risk of lethal recurrence and worse overall survival, suggesting that adequate staging surgery and intensive postoperative surveillance should be warranted.

Risk Factors for Recurrence of Borderline Ovarian Tumours after Conservative Surgery and Impact on Fertility: A Multicentre Study by the Francogyn Group

Introduction: Borderline ovarian tumours (BOT) represent 10–20% of epithelial tumours of the ovary. Although their prognosis is excellent, the recurrence rate can be as high as 30%, and recurrence in the infiltrative form accounts for 3% to 5% of recurrences. Affecting, in one third of cases, women of childbearing age, the surgical strategy with ovarian conservation is now recommended despite a significant risk of recurrence. Few studies have focused exclusively on patients who have received ovarian conservative treatment in an attempt to identify factors predictive of recurrence and the impact on fertility. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for recurrence of BOT after conservative treatment and the impact on fertility. Material and methods: This was a retrospective, multicentre study of women who received conservative surgery for BOT between February 1997 and September 2020. We divided the patients into two groups, the “R group” with recurrence and the “NR group” without recurrence. Results: Of 175 patients included, 35 had a recurrence (R group, 20%) and 140 had no recurrence (NR group, 80%). With a mean follow-up of 30 months (IQ 8–62.5), the overall recurrence rate was 20%. Recurrence was BOT in 17.7% (31/175) and invasive in 2.3% (4/175). The mean time to recurrence was 29.5 months (IQ 16.5–52.5). Initial complete peritoneal staging (ICPS) was performed in 42.5% of patients (n = 75). In multivariate analysis, age at diagnosis, nulliparity, advanced FIGO stage, the presence of peritoneal implants, and the presence of a micropapillary component for serous tumours were factors influencing the occurrence of recurrence. The post-surgery fertility rate was 67%. Conclusion: This multicentre study is to date one of the largest studies analysing the risk factors for recurrence of BOT after conservative surgery. Five risk factors were found: age at diagnosis, nulliparity, advanced FIGO stage, the presence of implants, and a micropapillary component. Only 25% of the patients with recurrence underwent ICPS. These results reinforce the interest of initial peritoneal staging to avoid ignoring an advanced tumour stage.

Oncofertility outcomes after fertility-sparing treatment of bilateral serous borderline ovarian tumors: results of a large retrospective study

STUDY QUESTION

What are the oncofertility outcomes of young women (≤40 years old) with bilateral serous borderline ovarian tumors (SBOTs) after fertility-sparing surgery?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Fertility preservation with the bilateral ovarian cystectomy procedure is feasible for bilateral SBOTs, with an acceptable oncological outcome and worthwhile pregnancy rates.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Fertility-sparing approaches are becoming the standard management of young patients with unilateral SBOTs and other borderline histological subtypes. However, there is a paucity of evidence to dictate the best management in bilateral SBOTs.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

This was a retrospective observational study performed at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, China, between January 1999 and January 2019.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

Ninety-four women (≤40 years old) with pathologically confirmed bilateral SBOTs were included. Following preoperative counseling, patients self-selected into one of three treatment modalities: bilateral ovarian cystectomy (n = 48), unilateral adnexectomy plus contralateral cystectomy (UAC; n = 31), and radical surgery (n = 15). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the clinical and pathological features associated with disease-free survival and reproductive outcomes.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

During the median follow-up of 64 months (range, 4-243 months), 61 patients (65%) developed relapse, including 3 (20%) in the radical group, 26 (84%) in the UAC group and 32 (67%) in the bilateral cystectomy group. In the multivariate analyses, preoperative CA-125>300 U/mL, fertility preservation and micropapillary pattern were independently associated with adverse disease-free survival (P = 0.001, 0.03 and 0.026, respectively). Fourteen patients (15%) experienced invasive recurrence, and three (3%) died of progressive disease. The micropapillary pattern was significantly associated with invasive evolution risk (P = 0.006). Of the 49 patients who attempted to conceive, 23 (47%) achieved 27 pregnancies (24 spontaneous and three after IVF-ET), resulting in 19 live births. There was no significant difference in disease-free survival (P = 0.13) or pregnancy rate (41 vs. 50%, P = 0.56) between the UAC and bilateral procedures.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

As a retrospective study conducted in a referral center, inherent biases exist. The nonrandom allocation to treatment groups and relatively small number of patients attempt to conceive might limit the statistical power of our findings. Only 41 patients (43.6%) received complete staging during their initial surgeries, so an underestimation bias in terms of the FIGO stage and extraovarian implants might have occurred.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

The ultraconservative bilateral ovarian cystectomy procedure should be proposed in bilateral SBOTs when technically feasible. Invasive evolution occurs frequently in these women, and intense follow-up and oncofertility counseling are warranted, especially for those with micropapillary patterns.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

No external funding was used for this study. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

N/A.

Clinical Predictors of Recurrence and Prognostic Value of Lymph Node Involvement in the Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumor

AIM

This study was aimed to evaluate the risk factors of recurrence and the value of nodal involvement in patients with serous borderline ovarian tumors (SBOT).

METHODS

Two hundred twenty-five patients who underwent surgery and were diagnosed with SBOT were retrospectively studied. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the risk factors for recurrence. Patients' clinical pathologic characteristics were compared between the patients who presented lymph node involvement and those who did not. The significant values of lymph condition influencing 5-year disease-free survival were also evaluated by statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that risk factors for recurrence were micropapillary (P = 0.021), fertility-preserving surgery (P = 0.014), and laparoscopic approach (P = 0.009). Of these 112 patients on whom lymphadenectomy was performed, 17 cases showed lymph node positive, whereas the remaining 95 patients did not. Significant differences in terms of lymph node numbers (P < 0.0001), invasive implant (P = 0.022), and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging (P < 0.0001) were observed between the 2 groups of lymphatic node involved or not. Kaplan-Meier curves of 5-year disease-free survival revealed that there were no significant differences either between groups of lymphatic node involved or not (P = 0.778) and groups of removed nodes whether more than 10 or not (P = 0.549).

CONCLUSIONS

Micropapillary, fertility-preserving, and laparoscopic approach were factors significantly affecting the recurrence of SBOT by both univariate and multivariate analysis. Lymph node metastasis did not seem to be correlated to a worse prognosis of SBOT.

Serous borderline tumor with micropapillary pattern of the right ovary that developed 6 recurrences over 30 years after primary surgery

Serous borderline tumors (SBTs) are nonaggressive and have excellent prognosis. Furthermore, SBTs with micropapillary pattern (SBT-MP) are known to be associated with a higher recurrence rate, microinvasions and invasive implants compared to typical SBTs, and these characteristics have adverse effects on prognosis. Here, we report a case of SBT with micropapillary pattern (SBT-MP) that developed 6 recurrences over 30 years after primary surgery. The patient was a 70 year-old woman. At 41 years of the age she underwent total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, partial omentectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy and was found to have an SBT-MP involving the right ovary (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2014, stage IC2). She was administered chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, adriamicin, and cisplatin). She repeatedly developed recurrences 6 times after primary surgery. A left inguinal recurrence at age 55, a right inguinal recurrence at age 56, a right inguinal recurrence at age 64, an umbilical recurrence at age 65, a right inguinal recurrence at age 68 and left axillary recurrence at age 70. Histopathological examinations revealed that all recurrences were SBT-MP with noninvasive implants. Our case strongly justifies the belief that recurrent SBTs carry an excellent prognosis unless they develop significant malignant transformation.

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Serous borderline tumors with micropapillary patterns (SBT-MP) of the ovary require a life-time follow-up.

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The prognosis is excellent without malignant transformation.

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Every recurrence should be examined pathologically.

Long-term Behavior of Serous Borderline Tumors Subdivided Into Atypical Proliferative Tumors and Noninvasive Low-grade Carcinomas: A Population-based Clinicopathologic Study of 942 Cases

Ovarian serous borderline tumors (SBTs) have been the subject of considerable controversy, particularly with regard to terminology and behavior. It has been proposed that they constitute a heterogenous group of tumors composed, for the most part, of typical SBTs that are benign and designated "atypical proliferative serous tumor (APST)" and a small subset of SBTs with micropapillary architecture that have a poor outcome and are designated "noninvasive low-grade serous carcinoma (niLGSC)". It also has been argued that the difference in behavior between the 2 groups is not due to the subtype of the primary tumor but rather the presence of extraovarian disease, specifically invasive implants. According to the terminology of the 2014 WHO Classification, typical SBTs are equivalent to APSTs and SBTs displaying micropapillary architecture are synonymous with niLGSC. In addition, "invasive implants" were renamed "low-grade serous carcinoma" (LGSC). The argument as to whether it is the appearance of the primary tumor or the presence of extraovarian LGSC that determines outcome remains unsettled. The current study was initiated in 2004 and was designed to determine what factors were predictive of outcome, with special attention to the appearance of the primary tumor (APST vs. niLGSC) and that of the extraovarian disease (noninvasive vs. invasive implants). Our study is population based, involving the entire female population of Denmark. None of the women in the study were lost to follow-up, which ranged up to 36 years (median, 15 y). All the microscopic slides from the contributing hospitals were rereviewed by a panel of 2 pathologists (R.V. and R.J.K.) who were blinded to the follow-up. After excluding those that were not SBTs by the pathology panel, as well as cases with a prior or concurrent cancer or undefined stage, 942 women remained, of which 867 were APSTs and 75 were niLGSCs. The median patient age was 50 years (range, 16 to 97 y). Eight hundred nine women (86%) presented with FIGO stage I disease, whereas 133 (14%) had advanced stage disease. Compared with APSTs, niLGSC exhibited a significantly greater frequency of bilaterality, residual gross disease after surgery, microinvasion/microinvasive carcinoma, advanced stage disease, and invasive implants at presentation (P-values <0.003). Because the cause of death is difficult to accurately ascertain from death certificates, we used development of invasive serous carcinoma as the primary endpoint as following development of carcinoma, the mortality is very high. In the entire cohort, subsequent development of carcinoma occurred in 4%, of which 93% were low grade and 7% high grade (median time, 10 y; range, up to 25 y). After adjusting for age at and time since diagnosis of APST or niLGSC, occurrence of subsequent carcinoma was significantly higher with niLGSC than APST among all stages combined (hazard ratio [HR]=3.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-8.2). This difference was still significant for stage I but not advanced stage cases. Moreover, all-cause mortality was not statistically significantly different between APST and niLGSC. Of all women with advanced stage disease, 114 (86%) had noninvasive implants, whereas 19 (14%) were invasive. Noninvasive implants were significantly associated with subsequent development of carcinoma (HR=7.7; 95% CI, 3.9-15.0), but the risk with invasive implants was significantly higher (HR=42.3; 95% CI, 16.1-111.1). In conclusion, although invasive implants are the most important feature in predicting an adverse outcome, subclassification into APST and niLGSC is important as it stratifies women with respect to risk for advanced stage disease and invasive implants for all women and development of serous carcinoma for stage I cases.

Long-term Behavior of Serous Borderline Tumors Subdivided Into Atypical Proliferative Tumors and Noninvasive Low-grade Carcinomas: A Population-based Clinicopathologic Study of 942 Cases

Ovarian serous borderline tumors (SBTs) have been the subject of considerable controversy, particularly with regard to terminology and behavior. It has been proposed that they constitute a heterogenous group of tumors composed, for the most part, of typical SBTs that are benign and designated "atypical proliferative serous tumor (APST)" and a small subset of SBTs with micropapillary architecture that have a poor outcome and are designated "noninvasive low-grade serous carcinoma (niLGSC)". It also has been argued that the difference in behavior between the 2 groups is not due to the subtype of the primary tumor but rather the presence of extraovarian disease, specifically invasive implants. According to the terminology of the 2014 WHO Classification, typical SBTs are equivalent to APSTs and SBTs displaying micropapillary architecture are synonymous with niLGSC. In addition, "invasive implants" were renamed "low-grade serous carcinoma" (LGSC). The argument as to whether it is the appearance of the primary tumor or the presence of extraovarian LGSC that determines outcome remains unsettled. The current study was initiated in 2004 and was designed to determine what factors were predictive of outcome, with special attention to the appearance of the primary tumor (APST vs. niLGSC) and that of the extraovarian disease (noninvasive vs. invasive implants). Our study is population based, involving the entire female population of Denmark. None of the women in the study were lost to follow-up, which ranged up to 36 years (median, 15 y). All the microscopic slides from the contributing hospitals were rereviewed by a panel of 2 pathologists (R.V. and R.J.K.) who were blinded to the follow-up. After excluding those that were not SBTs by the pathology panel, as well as cases with a prior or concurrent cancer or undefined stage, 942 women remained, of which 867 were APSTs and 75 were niLGSCs. The median patient age was 50 years (range, 16 to 97 y). Eight hundred nine women (86%) presented with FIGO stage I disease, whereas 133 (14%) had advanced stage disease. Compared with APSTs, niLGSC exhibited a significantly greater frequency of bilaterality, residual gross disease after surgery, microinvasion/microinvasive carcinoma, advanced stage disease, and invasive implants at presentation (P-values <0.003). Because the cause of death is difficult to accurately ascertain from death certificates, we used development of invasive serous carcinoma as the primary endpoint as following development of carcinoma, the mortality is very high. In the entire cohort, subsequent development of carcinoma occurred in 4%, of which 93% were low grade and 7% high grade (median time, 10 y; range, up to 25 y). After adjusting for age at and time since diagnosis of APST or niLGSC, occurrence of subsequent carcinoma was significantly higher with niLGSC than APST among all stages combined (hazard ratio [HR]=3.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-8.2). This difference was still significant for stage I but not advanced stage cases. Moreover, all-cause mortality was not statistically significantly different between APST and niLGSC. Of all women with advanced stage disease, 114 (86%) had noninvasive implants, whereas 19 (14%) were invasive. Noninvasive implants were significantly associated with subsequent development of carcinoma (HR=7.7; 95% CI, 3.9-15.0), but the risk with invasive implants was significantly higher (HR=42.3; 95% CI, 16.1-111.1). In conclusion, although invasive implants are the most important feature in predicting an adverse outcome, subclassification into APST and niLGSC is important as it stratifies women with respect to risk for advanced stage disease and invasive implants for all women and development of serous carcinoma for stage I cases.

A nationwide study of ovarian serous borderline tumors in Denmark 1978-2002. Risk of recurrence, and development of ovarian serous carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Absolute risk and risk factors for recurrence and ovarian serous carcinoma following ovarian serous borderline tumors (SBTs) is not well-established.

METHODS

We included all women with SBTs in Denmark, 1978-2002. Diagnoses were confirmed by centralized pathology review and classified as atypical proliferative serous tumor (APST) or noninvasive low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC). Implants were classified as noninvasive or invasive. Medical records were collected and reviewed, and follow-up was obtained. Subsequent diagnoses were also confirmed by centralized pathology review. We examined absolute risk and risk factors for recurrent APST and serous carcinoma using Cox regression.

RESULTS

The absolute serous carcinoma risk after, respectively, 5 and 20years was 5.0% and 13.9% for noninvasive LGSC, and 0.9% and 3.7% for APST. Serous carcinoma risk was significantly higher following noninvasive LGSC compared with APST among stage I patients/patients without implants (HR=5.3; 95% CI: 1.7-16.3), whereas no significant association with tumor type was found in advanced stage patients/patients with implants. Advanced stage - notably invasive implants - bilaterality, surface involvement, and residual disease increased serous carcinoma risk. However, women with stage I APST also had a higher risk than the general population.

CONCLUSIONS

This largest population-based cohort of verified SBTs revealed that women with noninvasive LGSC are significantly more likely to develop serous carcinoma than women with APST, which could not entirely be explained by invasive implants. Although invasive implants was a strong risk factor for serous carcinoma, even women with stage I APST were at increased risk compared with the general population.

Serous and mucinous borderline ovarian tumours: differences in clinical presentation, high-risk histopathological features, and lethal recurrence rates

BACKGROUND

Mucinous and serous borderline ovarian tumours (mBOTs and sBOTs) are controversial diseases.

OBJECTIVES

With this systematic review we aim to evaluate the different high-risk histopathological features and recurrence rates.

SEARCH STRATEGY

The PubMed database was searched using two terms: {serous AND [(borderline) OR (low malignant potential)] AND ovarian AND tumour} and {mucinous AND [(borderline) OR (low malignant potential)] AND ovarian AND tumour}.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Cohorts of either sBOT or mBOT, peer-reviewed, retrospective, or prospective.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Lethal recurrence data for micropapillary patterns (MPs), microinvasion, non-invasive and invasive implants, and intraepithelial carcinoma (IECA). The primary measure of effect was the odds ratio of lethal recurrence reduction.

RESULTS

Data from patients in 42 studies including 4414 sBOTs and 12 studies including 894 mBOTs were pooled. Of these, 53.3% presented early-stage typical sBOTs, 24.4% presented with MPs, 22.3% presented with microinvasion, 34.4% presented with non-invasive implants, and 7.3% presented with invasive implants. The pooled lethal recurrence rates were, respectively: 18.3, 16.8, 10.7, 16.2, and 33.8%. Patients with MPs were more likely to suffer lethal recurrence when compared with high-stage sBOTs (odds ratio, OR 0.501; P = 0.003), whereas the trend in microinvasive sBOTs did not reach statistical significance. Regarding mBOTs, 61.6% presented with early-stage typical mBOTs, 19.6% presented with microinvasion, 34.8% presented with IECA, and six patients presented with non-invasive implants; none presented with invasive implants. The lethal recurrence rates were, respectively: 3.6, 0, 3.7, and 0%.

CONCLUSION

Micropapillary patterns (MPs) showed a higher risk for lethal recurrence when compared with high-stage sBOTs. Regarding mBOTs, IECA and microinvasion do not play a role in the lethal recurrence rate.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Micropapillary pattern confirmed as high-risk in BOT. IECA and microinvasion don't play a role in mucinous BOT.

Fertility sparing treatment in borderline ovarian tumours

Borderline ovarian tumours are low malignant potential tumours. They represent 10-15% of all epithelial ovarian malignancies. Patients with this type of tumour are younger at the time of diagnosis than patients with invasive ovarian cancer. Most of them are diagnosed in the early stages and have an excellent prognosis. It has been quite clearly established that the majority of borderline ovarian tumours should be managed with surgery alone. Because a high proportion of women with this malignancy are young and the prognosis is excellent, the preservation of fertility is an important issue in the management of these tumours. In this systemic review of the literature, we have evaluated in-depth oncological safety and reproductive outcomes in women with borderline ovarian tumours treated with fertility-sparing surgery, reviewing the indications, benefits, and disadvantages of each type of conservative surgery, as well as new alternative options to surgery to preserve fertility.

[Unilateral borderline ovarian tumor and unilateral adenexectomy?]

To perform an adnexectomy in case of unilateral borderline tumor must consider the risk of recurrence, the preservation of fertility, and to integrate a global comprehensive management of a couple. Adnexectomy can be considering as a legitimate option when the woman desire a pregnancy. The risk of recurrence is low and the global survey high. Identification of woman with a high risk of recurrence is necessary. Adnexectomy can be considering as a legitimate option to preserve fertility in case of unilateral tumor. However, ovarian reserve data are missing after the surgery. Adnexectomy can be considering for the management of infertile woman with unilateral borderline tumor. IVF can be performed in the absence of any poor prognosis factor. Management with ovarian cryopreservation and In vitro Maturation remain unclear.

A nationwide study of serous "borderline" ovarian tumors in Denmark 1978-2002: centralized pathology review and overall survival compared with the general population

OBJECTIVE

To describe the study population and estimate overall survival of women with a serous "borderline" ovarian tumor (SBT) in Denmark over 25 years relative to the general population.

METHODS

The Danish Pathology Data Bank and the Danish Cancer Registry were used to identify 1487 women diagnosed with SBTs from 1978 to 2002. The histologic slides were collected from Danish pathology departments and reviewed by expert pathologists and classified as SBT/atypical proliferative serous tumor (APST) or noninvasive low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC). Associated implants were classified as noninvasive or invasive. Medical records were collected from hospital departments and reviewed. Data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and relative survival was estimated with follow-up through September 2, 2013.

RESULTS

A cohort of 1042 women with a confirmed SBT diagnosis was identified. Women with stage I had an overall survival similar to the overall survival expected from the general population (p=0.3), whereas women with advanced stage disease had a poorer one (p<0.0001). This was evident both in women with noninvasive (p<0.0001) and invasive implants (p<0.0001). Only among women with advanced stage, overall survival of women with SBT/APST (p<0.0001) and noninvasive LGSC (p<0.0001) was poorer than expected from the general population.

CONCLUSIONS

To date this is the largest nationwide cohort of SBTs where all tumors have been verified by expert pathologists. Only in women with advanced stage SBT, overall survival is poorer than in the general population which applies both to women with noninvasive and invasive implants as well as to women with SBT/APST and noninvasive LGSC.

External multicentre validation of a nomogram predicting the risk of relapse in patients with borderline ovarian tumours

Background:

The Obermair nomogram was recently developed to predict the risk of relapse in patients with borderline ovarian tumours (BOTs) based on five readily available clinical, biological, and pathological characteristics. We set out to externally validate and assess its robustness using a multi-institutional BOT database.

Methods:

All consecutive patients treated for BOTs in the two participating centres between January 1980 and December 2008 and who had all the nomogram variables documented were identified for analysis.

Results:

Three hundred and fourteen eligible patients were identified and used for external validation analysis. The median follow-up and initial relapse time were 46.43 (range: 0.1–360) and 66.64 (range: 8–77) months, respectively. The nomogram concordance index was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.52–0.56). The correspondence between the actual relapse and the nomogram predictions suggests a limited calibration of the nomogram in the validation cohort.

Conclusion:

This external validation study of the Obermair nomogram showed limitations in its generalisability to a new and independent patient population.

Fertility and borderline ovarian tumor: a systematic review of conservative management, risk of recurrence and alternative options

BACKGROUND

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the fertility outcome after borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) management and the results of conservative management, risk of recurrence and alternative options.

METHODS

The search strategy was based on relevant terms concerning BOT using Medline and the Central Cochrane Library. Both early and advanced stages of serous and mucinous BOT were included, but not rare entities such as endometrioid, Brenner or clear-cell BOT because of their low incidence. We considered all articles-case reports, original studies, meta-analyses and reviews-in English and French.

RESULTS

Overall, 230 articles were screened of which 120 were retained for review. Most pregnancies were spontaneous but some data were obtained from studies analyzing the contribution of assisted reproductive technology (ART). However, not all studies differentiated spontaneous pregnancy from those obtained after fertility treatment including ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination and IVF. Conservative management of early stage BOT resulted in a pooled estimate for spontaneous pregnancy rate of 54% with a low risk of lethal recurrence (pooled estimate: 0.5%). In patients with advanced stage BOT, the spontaneous pregnancy rates was lower (34% in the single series reporting pregnancy rate in this context) and the risk of lethal recurrence increased (pooled estimate: 2%).

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review underlines that fertility subsequent to treatment of BOT depends mainly on histology and initial staging to distinguish early from advanced stages. In patients with advanced stage BOT, several alternative options to conservative management are available to allow patients to conceive without compromising their prognosis.

Borderline ovarian tumour: pathological diagnostic dilemma and risk factors for invasive or lethal recurrence

By comparison with ovarian carcinomas, borderline ovarian tumours are characterised clinically by superior overall survival, even in women with peritoneal spread. In this Review, we aimed to clarify the histological and clinical factors potentially defining a high-risk group in whom disease is likely to evolve to invasive disease. Invasive peritoneal implants (in serous borderline ovarian tumours) and residual disease after surgery were the two factors clearly identified. Other factors are controversial owing to increased risk of invasive recurrence: micropapillary patterns in serous borderline ovarian tumour, intraepithelial carcinoma in mucinous lesions, stromal microinvasion in serous lesions, and use of cystectomy in mucinous borderline ovarian tumours. The pathologist has a pivotal role in assessment of the borderline nature of ovarian tumours and in identification of high-risk criteria, most of which are histological. But, reproducibility of the histological interpretation of some of these potential criteria--eg, classification of peritoneal implants (particularly in desmoplastic subtype), stromal microinvasion, micropapillary patterns, and intraepithelial carcinoma in mucinous borderline ovarian tumours--remains unclear, and should be investigated.