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Surface Epithelial Tumours of the Ovary

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Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Each year ovarian cancer afflicts 204,000 women worldwide and claims 125,000 lives. Surface epithelial tumours form the majority of ovarian neoplasms. In fact the term ‘ovarian cancer’ is practically used almost synonymously with surface epithelial malignancies. The tumours include a number of diverse entities with distinct molecular genetics, pathology and clinical outcomes. Common to many of the tumour types in this category is the existence of benign and borderline in addition to malignant counterparts. These tumours are associated with nulliparity and obesity while pregnancy and oral contraception appear to play a protective role, suggesting a direct role of ovulation-related events in causing the disease. The non-specific nature of the presenting symptoms and inconsistent signs of early cancers result late presentation and high mortality. In recent years, there have been significant advances in the understanding of the origins of these fascinating neoplasms, not only in their molecular genetics but also in the discovery that many of these have extraovarian, in particular tubal, origins. These have exciting implications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these tumours. This chapter is a summary of the diagnostic pathology of epithelial ovarian malignancies with emphasis on recent developments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular Pathology, Barts Health NHS Trust, 2nd Floor 80 Newark Street, London, E1 2ES, England, UK

    Purnima Makhija MD & Naveena Singh MBBS, FRCPath

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  1. Purnima Makhija MD
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  2. Naveena Singh MBBS, FRCPath
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Correspondence to Naveena Singh MBBS, FRCPath .

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  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medical College, The New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, Cornell University, New York, USA

    Samir A. Farghaly

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Makhija, P., Singh, N. (2014). Surface Epithelial Tumours of the Ovary. In: Farghaly, S. (eds) Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Ovarian Cancer. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8271-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8271-0_4

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