Ovarian Teratomas in Port Harcourt: A Clinicopathologic Study of 83 Cases
Abstract
Context: Germ-cell ovarian tumors are quite common in this environment but there are only a few isolated reports on ovarian teratomas in Nigeria.Objective: To describe the clinical and pathological features observed in patients diagnosed with ovarian teratomas in a Nigerian university teaching hospital over a ten-year period.
Study Design, Setting and Subjects: The data was obtained from the clinical and pathological records of patients who had a tissue diagnosis of ovarian teratoma at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) between 1991 and 2000. Information on their age and clinical features were extracted. The tissue blocks and slides were retrieved for re-assessment.
Results: There were 96 cases of ovarian teratomas during the period, but only 83 records and tissue blocks could be retrieved. The peak age of occurrence of the tumours was 30–39 years (38.6% of patients) and the tumours were rare after age 70 (1.2%). The commonest clinical presentation was abdominal enlargement with palpable abdominal mass/masses (41% of cases). This was often associated with abdominal pain. Lower abdominal fullness was found in 36.1% of cases. Ectodermal components were predominant in 71% cases, mesodermal components in 15.6% and endodermal in 13.3%. Hair follicles were the commonest mature tissue found in the teratomas. Immature teratomas accounted for 2.5% of cases
Conclusion: Ovarian teratomas occur most commonly in women in their reproductive years and ectodermal components tend to be predominant in these tumours.
Key Words: Ovary, Germ Cell, Teratoma, Dermoid, Histology.
[Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2002, 19: 112-114]
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