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Updated: Aug 17, 2025

Surgical Techniques to Optimize Ovarian Reserve during Laparoscopic Cystectomy for Ovarian Endometrioma
Published on: January 22, 2022
Low grade serous ovarian cancer - A rare disease with increasing therapeutic options
Tibor A Zwimpfer1, Ori Tal2, Franziska Geissler3
1Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia; Department of Gynecological Oncology, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSOCs) most commonly arise from the fimbrial end of the fallopian tube and harbor TP53 gene mutations. In contrast, low-grade serous ovarian cancers (LGSOCs) appear to have different pathological, epidemiological, and clinical features and should be seen as a distinct serous epithelial ovarian cancer subtype. Our current understanding of LGSOC is limited, and treatment has generally been derived from the more common HGSOCs due to a lack of separate trial data. LGSOCs are characterized by slow tumor growth and are assumed to develop from serous borderline ovarian tumors as precursors. These cancers are often estrogen-receptor positive and show an activated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway together with KRAS and BRAF mutations and, rarely, TP53 mutations. These characteristics are now commonly used to guide therapeutical decision making and, consequently, a substantial part of treatment consists of maintenance with endocrine treatment, thus balancing disease stabilization and mild toxicity. Additionally, new trials are ongoing that examine the role of targeted therapies such as MEK inhibitors in combination with endocrine treatments. The purpose of this work is to summarize current knowledge and present ongoing trial efforts for LGSOCs.
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