Management of bilateral malignant ovarian germ cell tumors: Experience of a single institute

Abstract

Bilateral malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCTs) are rare. Determination of the optimal treatment modalities is crucial, as these malignancies mainly affect girls and young women who may wish to preserve their fertility. In order to review the prevalence, clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of bilateral MOGCTs, we performed a retrospective review of patients who were diagnosed with bilateral MOGCTs and underwent primary surgery at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University (Shanghai, China) between January, 2001 and December, 2014. Of the 130 patients investigated, 8 were diagnosed with bilateral disease, most of whom were International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I. There was no significant difference in overall and disease-free survival between patients with unilateral and those with bilateral disease. Cases with dysgerminoma, dysgerminoma coexisting with gonadoblastoma, yolk sac tumor and ovarian primary choriocarcinoma were included in this study. Fertility was spared in 2 patients (1 with dysgerminoma and 1 with ovarian primary choriocarcinoma). The patient with ovarian choriocarcinoma experienced relapse and was finally salvaged by radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. According to our results and the published data, patients affected by bilateral MOGCTs have a satisfactory prognosis. The treatment modalities largely depend on the histological type of the tumor. Fertility-sparing surgery may be safe for patients affected by dysgerminoma, but should be considered with caution in patients with ovarian primary choriocarcinoma.

Keywords: bilateral; malignant ovarian germ cell tumors; management.

Figure 1.

Survival curves of patients affected by unilateral and bilateral malignant ovarian germ cell tumors. Cum, cumulative; 0: unilateral; 1: bilateral.