[Diagnosis of malignant ovarian tumors using color Doppler sonography]

In a prospective investigation the authors followed the circulation in 32 patients with ovarian tumours before operation. They examined the RI using colour Doppler sonography. Based on histological examination the authors divided the patients into groups with malignant and benign tumours resp. The peripheral resistance and RI in the group of patients with malignant tumours was 0.35 +/- 0.03, i.e. significantly lower than in the group with benign tumours, 0.65 +/- 0.08 (p < 0.001). In none of the patients with malignant tumours the RI was higher than 0.50. The authors recommend this method as a screening examination for early detection of malignant ovarian tumours.