[Dysgerminoma of the ovary--a clinical report of 27 patients]

Twenty seven patients with dysgerminoma of the ovary were treated in our hospital from 1959 to 1982. 18 of them had no prior treatment and the other 9 had undergone operation and were admitted for recurrence. Among these 18 untreated patients, all were successfully operated. Apart from 4, the others were supplemented by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. 17 (94%) were free of disease from 3 to 24 years, only one died of tumor recurrence within 5 years after the initial treatment. The 5 year survival rate was 94%. However, among the 9 recurrent patients, 6 were treated by operation, supplemented by postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy but only 3 survived for 7, 14 and 15 years respectively without any evidence of disease. The 5 year survival rate was 33%. As those patients who received conservative operation initially gave a high recurrence rate, the authors propose that the patients be treated individually according to the condition of disease. The choice of treatment for the individual patient is discussed.