Serous borderline ovarian tumors: modern possibilities of ultrasound diagnostics in monitoring the course of the disease after organ-preserving operations

Relevance. Borderline ovarian tumors (BOT) occur mainly in women of reproductive age and account for 20% of all neoplasms of the female genital organs. Currently, there is an increase in the incidence of ВОТ. One of the reasons for the increase in morbidity is the improvement of knowledge and experience in relation to the morphological diagnosis of tumors of low malignancy potential. Nevertheless, the results of a preliminary instrumental assessment of the nature of the disease and the final diagnosis formed by histological examination are not always satisfactory, since borderline tumors are a thin layer that occupies an intermediate position between benign and malignant tumors. And, in spite of the fact that ВОТ is an independent nosological form in the histological classification, nevertheless, they have signs of both benign and malignant neoplasms. In this regard, the complexity of both instrumental and morphological diagnostics of ВOT becomes understandable, and, therefore, difficulties arise in determining the tactics of treatment, choosing the optimal operation, and the need for drug therapy. All these issues are directly related to the patient’s quality of life, and, most importantly, to survival. Because an incorrectly established diagnosis entails incorrect treatment and unsatisfactory results. Thus, the study of the peculiarities of ВOT diagnostics is extremely important. The ultrasound computed tomography method is simple, relatively cheap and affordable. Considering that almost all patients with ovarian neoplasms undergo this type of examination, it is extremely important and interesting to assess the role of the ultrasound method in the diagnosis of ВОТ. Moreover, at present more and more gynecological oncologists are resorting to organ-preserving surgical interventions for ВOТ. Therefore, it is especially important to study the possibility of ultrasound diagnostics in monitoring the course of the disease after breast-conserving operations, identifying recurrences of the disease in the ovary, differentiating recurrence and cystic formations of the ovaries.

Aim. To determine the effectiveness of computer-assisted ultrasound diagnostics in monitoring the course of BOT after breast-conserving operations.

Materials and methods. At Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology carried out a retrospective and prospective analysis of 405 patients with serous BOT for the period 1970–2013. The age of the patients varied in a wide range, the minimum was 15, the maximum was 78 years, the median corresponded to 38 years. Before the start of treatment, the patients underwent an ultrasound examination (ultrasound) of the abdominal organs, the pelvic organs and the retroperitoneal space. The studies were carried out on expert ultrasonic systems Siemens ACUSON S2000, Hitachi ARIETTA V70 and Philips EPIQ 5.

Results. We studied the capabilities of the ultrasound method for diagnosing serous BOT based on the analysis of morpho-ultrasound comparisons in patients after conservative and ultra-conservative operations.

Conclusion. It has been established that ultrasound diagnostics is of decisive importance both in the initial diagnosis and in the dynamic observation of patients with conservative and ultra-conservative surgery for serous BOT. Echography makes it possible to diagnose a tumor in the ovary in 83.3% of cases and to reject the diagnosis in 86.7% of cases.