Patterns of Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Ovarian Teratomas: A Systematic Review of Case Reports

Ovarian teratomas are germ cell tumors composed of multiple cell types. Ovarian teratomas may express antigens found in the nervous system or neuroendocrine proteins. These neural antigens and neuroendocrine proteins may lead to an autoimmune response with associated encephalitis. There are a growing number of case reports of autoimmune encephalitis in patients with ovarian teratomas. However, the patterns of neuropsychiatric manifestations of ovarian teratomas associated with encephalitis have not been established. The aim of this article is to conduct a systematic review to determine the patterns of neuropsychiatric manifestations of ovarian teratoma-associated encephalitis, focusing on their frequency and clinical course. Thirty-three case reports were collected and analyzed for a systematic review. The studies were full-text, peer-reviewed journal publications from April 2014 to April 2024. Fifty-eight patients were included in our study. The age group of 22-35 years old was the most reported, with 25 (43.1%) patients. The most commonly reported symptoms were memory impairment in 29 (50%) patients, hallucinations in 25 (43.1%) patients, and aggressive behavior in 23 (39.7%) patients. Neuropsychiatric symptoms had a prodromal phase of flu-like symptoms in 31 (53.4%) patients. The neuropsychiatric symptoms preceded the diagnosis of ovarian teratoma in 57 (98.3%) patients. In 53 (91.4%) patients, patients did not respond to psychiatric medications. Autoimmune antibodies to neural antigens were found in 45 (77.6%) patients, with 25 (43.1%) patients having neural tissue present in the teratoma. Treatment of the underlying teratoma and encephalitis led to full recovery in 37 (63.8%) patients. However, long-term outcomes such as relapse and mortality were discussed in only 11 (19.0%) patients. Findings suggest that neuropsychiatric symptoms correlate with teratoma-associated encephalitis and often precede tumor detection. The treatment of the teratoma led to full recovery of the neuropsychiatric manifestations; however, the long-term outcomes of the patients need to be further studied. Future research is needed on the prognosis of patients with neuropsychiatric manifestations of ovarian teratoma.