Morphological Spectrum of Ovarian Teratomas: A 6 Years Experience at a Specialized Diagnostic Institute

Introduction: Ovarian teratomas include mature cystic teratoma (MCT), immature teratoma (IT) and monodermal teratoma (MoT). Malignant transformation (MT) can occur in MCT and MoT, which remains a diagnostic challenge. Aims & Objectives: To discuss the morphological spectrum of ovarian teratomas reported during the last six years at our specialized diagnostic institute and determine the frequency of MT in MCT and MoT. Place and duration of study: The study was carried out at Chughtai Institute of Pathology from January 2015 to December 2020. Material & Methods: A retrospective study was performed by retrieving 1018 cases of ovarian teratomas reported in last 6 years. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: MCT was most frequent ovarian teratoma with frequency of 95.6% (n=973), 2.26% (n=23) being IT and 2.16% (n=22) being MoT. IT were mostly seen in pediatric age group. MT in benign MCT was seen in 0.72% of MCT (n=7). Squamous cell carcinoma was most frequent malignancy 71.4% (n=5). One case of MoT also showed MT into papillary thyroid carcinoma, classic type, with frequency of MT in Mot being 4.76% (n=1). All MT in MCT had age >30 years which was a significant finding (p <0.001). Conclusion: Ovarian masses in postmenopausal patients with suspicious radiological features, irrespective of lesional size warrant a thorough gross examination, extensive sampling and a careful microscopic evaluation.