Ovarian cancer classification

Overview
Ovarian cancer is classified according to the histology of the tumor, obtained in a pathology report.

Classification
Histology dictates many aspects of clinical treatment, management, and prognosis.


 * Surface epithelial-stromal tumour, including serous and mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, is the most common type of ovarian cancer.
 * Sex cord-stromal tumor, including estrogen-producing granulosa cell tumor and virilizing Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor or arrhenoblastoma, accounts for 8% of ovarian cancers.
 * Germ cell tumor accounts for approximately 5% of ovarian cancers. It tends to occur in young women and girls, and has a better prognosis than other ovarian tumors.
 * mixed tumors, containing elements of more than one tumor histology

Ovarian cancer often is primary, but can also be secondary, the result of metastasis from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body. For example, from breast cancer, or from gastrointestinal cancer (in which case the ovarian cancer is a Krukenberg cancer). Surface epithelial-stromal tumor can originate in the lining of the abdominal cavity, in which case the ovarian cancer is secondary to primary peritoneal cancer, but treatment is basically the same as for primary ovarian cancer of this type.