A case of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary associated with virilization: pre and post-operative steroid plasma levels

Abstract

A premenopausal woman with a mucinous carcinoma of one ovary, and a mucinous adenoma of the other, together with secondary virilization, is reported. Preoperative levels of androstenedione, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate were high, suggesting the presence of a virilizing tumor. Preoperative plasma estrone (E1), but not estradiol (E2), was elevated along with inversion of the E2/E1 ratio, suggesting a peripheral origin of the estrogens. FSH and LH plasma concentrations were low. After bilateral ovariectomy, levels of all steroids measured significantly decreased and gonadotropins rose to the postmenopausal range.