Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Heterotypic Three-dimensional In Vitro Modeling of Stromal-Epithelial Interactions During Ovarian Cancer Initiation and Progression
Published on: August 28, 2012
Histologic subtypes and laterality of primary epithelial ovarian tumors
Inbal Boger-Megiddo1, Noel S Weiss
1Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA. ibogerme@fhcrc.org
Objectives:
To determine if the likelihood of bilateral primary ovarian tumors differs by histologic subtype.
Methods:
Using data collected by the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, the analysis included 22,328 women 25-84 years of age who were diagnosed with a borderline or malignant epithelial ovarian tumor during 1992-2000, categorized as to laterality and histologic subtype.
Results:
Malignant serous tumors were bilateral in 57.5% of cases. Corresponding figures for mucinous, clear cell, endometrioid and other epithelial tumors were 21.3%, 13.3%, 26.8%, and 35.6%, respectively. Borderline serous tumors were bilateral in 29.8% of the cases compared to only 7.0% of mucinous tumors. The tendency for serous tumors to present as bilateral was consistent across all categories of race, age, and stage.
Conclusions:
Serous tumors of the ovary are more commonly bilateral than ovarian tumors of other histologic subtypes. The reasons for this tendency remain to be determined.
Related Concept Videos
Ovaries
On the ovarian surface, a layer of cuboidal...
Classification of Epithelial Tissues: Overview
Based on the number of cell layers,...
Classification of Epithelial Tissues: Glandular Epithelium
Multicellular glands are formed during early development when epithelial budding...
Classification of Epithelial Tissues: Stratified Epithelium
Folliculogenesis
Ovarian Cycle

