Histological profile of ovarian tumours in rural South Tamil Nadu – A 3 year retrospective analysis

Introduction: Ovarian tumors are the second most common tumors of female genital tract and the fifth leading cause of cancer related death among Indian women. This study describes the gross & histo-morphological patterns of various ovarian tumours reported in a Tertiary Medical Centre in South Tamilnadu. Materials and Method: This retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pathology, Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli pertains to a period of 3 years between January 2014 and December 2016, wherein all ovarian tumours reported in this department were selected from the archives material. The slides were reviewed and fresh sections made wherever needed and special stains used as required. Immuno histochemistry was also performed to confirm diagnosis. Results: Of 180 cases of ovarian tumours reviewed 157 cases presented unilaterally and 23 bilaterally and of the 157 unilateral tumours 125 were benign, 5 were borderline and 27 were malignant. Of the 23 bilateral tumours 14 were benign, 3 were borderline and 6 were malignant. In our series, serous tumors were more common (52.8%), followed by mucinous tumours (26.1%). Benign tumours were common in the 21- 40 years age group and malignant tumours were more common in 41-60years age group. Conclusion: This study concludes that benign tumours were more common and predominantly in patients less than 40 years, while malignant tumours were predominantly in patients above 40years of age and most tumours were of surface epithelium in origin