Review article
Ovarian neuroectodermal tumors
Anamarija Morović
Ivan Damjanov
Abstract
In this paper we have reviewed the publications dealing with primary neuroectodermal tumors of the ovary.These rare monophasic teratomas are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of neuroectodemal tissue and are thus an important paradigm of a type of malignancy that develops from ovarian germ cells. Approximately 60 neuroectodermal tumors of the ovary have been reported in the literature. Histologically, the tumors were classified as gliomas, such as ependymoma, ependymoblastoma, astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme, or as primitive neuroepithelial tumors such as medulloblastoma, medulloepithelioma, and neuroblastoma. Microscopically, they are identical to equivalent neuroectodermal tumors of the central nervous system. Most tumors were diagnosed in the third and fourth decades of life. Neuroectodermal tumors are rarely diagnosed in other age groups, although there are published reports of such tumors in children, adolescents or older women. The review of the litarature shows that most patients with clinical stage I and II were treated surgically, whereas those with stage III or IV tumors received additional radiation or chemotherapy, or both. The clinical stage at the time of diagnosis is the most important prognostic parameter of these tumors.Patients whose tumors were recognized early in the course of the neoplastic disease and treated appropriately had a good prognosis, but those with tumors in advanced stages advanced tumors had poor prognosis.
Keywords
Ovary; Neuroectodermal tumor; Germ cell tumor
Hrčak ID:
17277
URI
Publication date:
10.10.2007.
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