[Ovarian serous borderline tumor: the prognostic relation to the pathologic features and management]

The clinicopathological review of 49 cases of the serous borderline tumors (SBTs) of ovary with a follow-up of more than 20 years is presented. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the recurrence and the mortality rates between the SBTs and the SBTs containing foci of stromal microinvasion (P > 0.05). The longterm survival rate of 40 cases with stage I was 97.5%, while stage III decreased to 33.3% (P < 0.01). The cause of 3 deaths was small bowel obstruction. No difference was found in the prognostic status and the mean survival years between total abdominal hysterectomy plus bilateral salpingo oophorectomy and unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. 5 of 16 cases treated by unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or cystectomy underwent normal pregnancies and deliveries during the follow-up period. These results suggest that SBTs containing foci of the stromal microinvasion did not affect the prognosis, they may have been taken as a subset of the ovarian SBTs. The malignant potential of SBTs is very low because of their excellent survival and the deaths only due to complications. Treatment should therefore be conservative in stage I cases, particularly in young women who wish for preservation of fertility functions.