Abstract

Objective: The majority of childhood ovarian masses are benign. However, malignant tumors encountered in adulthood may also be seen in childhood. There is still no ovarian tumor management protocol for children. We shared our experiences with ovarian mass cases operated in our clinic.

Material and Methods: Patients aged 0-18 years and had surgery in our hospital between 2010 and 2020 due to ovarian masses were included in the study. The ages of the patients, the maximum diameter and structure of the mass on ultrasonography (USG) and other imaging modalities, symptoms on presentation, tumor markers, operation data, and histopathology results were recorded. The patients were divided into three groups in relation with tumor histopathology, and the demographic data were compared among groups.

Results: In 11-year period, 107 surgical operations were performed on 106 patients due to ovarian masses. The ages of the patients were between 2 days and 17 years, with a mean age of 13.4±14.1 years. Of the masses, 9 (8.4%) were malignant (3 (2.8%) borderline), 44 (41.1%) were benign, and 54 (50.5) were non-neoplastic. Histopathology results of 53 surgical operations performed for neoplastic ovarian masses were germ cell tumor in 31 (29%), epithelial tumor in 19 (17.8%), sex cord stromal tumor in 2 (1.9%), and leiomyoma 1 (0.9%) patient.

Conclusion: Adult protocols should be used when necessary in rare childhood ovarian malignant tumors, and large multi-center patient series should be constituted in order to establish pediatric protocols related to the subject. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary in childhood ovarian masses.

Keywords: Children, Masses, Ovary, Surgery

References

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1.
Akış Yıldız Z, Arpacık M, Sirin B, Tosun İ, Yalçınkaya C, İlce Z. Surgical Ovary Masses in Children: A Single Center Experience of 11 Years. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2022 Jul. 7 [cited 2025 May 24];16(4):318-25. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/873