OVARY PROBLEMS
Benign tumours. The word tumour does not necessarily mean cancer. A tumour is a swelling, or abnormal growth, and this may be either cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign). Tumours may also be classified according to their texture: solid, cystic or mixed.
Benign tumours of the ovary can occur at any age, even in young children. Some of them can become very big, sometimes the size of a full-term pregnancy. All tumours of the ovary need to be investigated and removed to allow for microscopic examination of the tissue, so a diagnosis can be made and it can be assessed as benign or malignant. The good news is that about 80 per cent of all ovarian tumours are benign. The ratio of benign to malignant varies with age groups. In infancy and childhood (when the tumours are rare anyway), it is about 3 to 2. In the reproductive years it is about 20 to 1, but over the age of 50 it is 1 to 1.
There are several different types of benign tumours. The most common is called a dermoid cyst, or cystic teratoma, and can contain actual bits of tissue, like hair and teeth, which have developed from the ovary cells. They look and sound nasty, but are usually (99 per cent) benign, and are treated by surgically removing the tumour, leaving the ovary intact. They can sometimes occur on the other ovary as well. They may happen in any age group, but are more common in the first thirty years of life.
The cystadenoma is another type of tumour, and there are three subgroups, depending on what kind of filling they have (serous, mucinous and endometroid). These are the ones which can grow to fill the abdominal cavity. A growing girth may be the only clue to the presence of a cyst (however most of us who notice our waistlines increasing do not have ovarian tumours). They are more common after the age of 25.
Cystadenomas are treated by surgical removal of the cyst, with or without the ovary, depending on the circumstances.
Rare benign rumours of the ovary include fibromas, Brenner rumours and parovarian cysts. These are uncommon, but may present in the same way, and are treated by surgical removal, like the other tumours.
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Tags: Women’s Health