Clinicopathological features in patients with rare ovarian cancers

OBJECTIVES: In this study, it was aimed to clarify the features of patients with rare ovarian cancers (ROC) and to determine the prognostic factors associated with survival. METHODS: A total of 48 patients with ROC, seen between 2003 and 2011, were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 12 (25%) germ-cell tumors (GCT), 25 (52.1%) sex cord-stromal tumors (SCT) and 11 (29.1%) “other” ROC patients. Significant differences were detected with respect to age, tumor localization, initial symptom(s) at diagnosis, surgery type, tumor size, and tumor grade. GCTs were commonly localized in the left and/or bilateral ovaries, while SCT and the other ROCs were frequently localized in the right ovary (p=0.02). Staging at primary surgery was high in the other ROCs compared with GCTs and SCTs (p=0.02). Patients with GCT were younger in age (p=0.006) and had larger (p=0.03) and well-differentiated (p=0.01) tumors than those with SCTs or the other ROCs. Survivals were similar among groups. CONCLUSION: ROCs should be evaluated separately from epithelial ovarian cancers because of their different biological features and different natural history.