Introduction

Ovarian tumors can be benign or malignant and are classified based on their predominant cell type, which determines their clinical symptoms and gross appearance ( Figure 1).

Ovarian tumor types include ( Table 1):

  • Epithelial:  composed of surface epithelial cells and include serous and mucinous subtypes.  Epithelial carcinomas are the most common type of ovarian cancer and are reviewed in detail in a separate article.
  • Germ cell:  derived from primordial germ cells of the ovary; they can broadly be divided into cell populations that differentiate towards embryo-like tumors (eg, teratomas, dysgerminomas) and those that differentiate towards extraembryonic (ie, placenta) tumors (eg, yolk sac tumors).
  • Sex cord-stromal:  tumors composed of cells from either the sex cord (eg, granulosa cell tumors), stromal cells (eg, fibroma, thecoma), or both (eg, Sertoli-Leydig tumors).

Continue Learning with UWorld

Get the full Rare Ovarian Tumors article plus rich visuals, real-world cases, and in-depth insights from medical experts, all available through the UWorld Medical Library.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Images

Image 1
Image 1
Image 2
Image 2
Image 3
Image 3

Tables

Table 1
Table 2