Histopathological pattern of ovarian neoplasms and their age distribution in the western region of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To identify the different histopathological types of ovarian neoplasms and their age distribution.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study were ovarian neoplasms received by the Pathology Department of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between January 1995 and December 2010 were reviewed and their frequencies in different age groups were calculated.

RESULTS: Out of 618 ovarian specimens studied, 382 (61.8%) were ovarian neoplasms while 38.2% were non-neoplastic functional cysts. Benign neoplasms (n=278; 72.8%) were more common than borderline (n=20; 5.2%) and malignant ones (n=84; 22%) in all age groups. Surface epithelial neoplasms were the most common (61%) followed by germ cell (28%), gender cord stromal (7.6%) and metastatic tumors (3.4%). The most common benign neoplasm was serous cystadenoma (44.6%) and the most common malignant was serous cystadenocarcinoma (33.3%). The most common ovarian neoplasm below the age of 20 years was surface epithelial tumors (n=24) followed by germ cell tumor (16 cases). Benign neoplasms (n=213) were more common than malignant ones (n=42) in the age group from 20-51 years. Malignant ovarian neoplasms (35 out of the 71) were more common than benign (34 cases) in the age above 52.

CONCLUSION: Benign ovarian neoplasms are more common than malignant ones. The most common benign ovarian neoplasm is serous cystadenoma and the commonest malignant neoplasm is serous cystadenocarcinoma. The prevalence of malignant ovarian neoplasms increases with increasing age.