BackgroundAlthough teratomas are the most common histologic subtype of childhood ovarian germ cell tumors, their appropriate treatment in this age group still remains unclear. Paucity of research dedicated exclusively to both mature and immature teratomas of the ovary, contribute to decision making difficulties.Therefore, we decided to review retrospectively our experience in treatment of pediatric ovarian teratomas in order to assess the epidemiology, presenting features, and diagnostic as well as surgical management of these lesions.ResultsThe study comprised 58 patients. Fifty percent of patients were between 9 and 15 years old. Mature teratoma was diagnosed in 55(94.83%) patients, while 3(5.17%) patients presented with immature teratoma. Twenty eight (50.91%) girls with mature teratoma had laparotomy and 23 (41.82%) had laparoscopy performed as an initial operative approach. Ovarian tissue sparing technique (preservation of the ovarian tissue of the affected gonad) was applied in only 11.11% of patients operated in the first study period (years 1999–2003) and increased to 40.54% in the second half of our study (years 2004–2016). The extent of gonadal resection was not related with the size of the lesion. Bilateral lesions were noted in 8 patients with mature teratoma. All girls with immature teratoma were subjected to formal laparotomy. Two patients had stage III of the disease and one had stage IV. They underwent at least resection of the affected gonad. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given to all girls with immature teratoma after the surgery.ConclusionsUnder particular conditions ovarian-sparing surgery might be successfully applied in children with mature teratoma. Laparotomy is the treatment of choice in large masses, suspicious for malignancy and if surgical staging is required. High quality prospective multi-institutional studies are required in order to get an objective insight into biology and prognostic factors of teratomas in children.

BackgroundEpidemiology and pathology of ovarian tumors in the pediatric population are very different of these encountered in women. Few attempts have been made to analyze the whole spectrum of ovarian pathology in children, and only some of them included series of more than 200 cases. We performed a retrospective analysis of clinical and diagnostic aspects of ovarian tumors and tumor-like lesions in girls in order to identify the characteristics associated with malignancy with an attempt to elaborate a clinical management algorithm.ResultsThe study group comprised 214 patients operated on for ovarian tumor in years 1991-2014 at the pediatric surgical center. Non-neoplastic ovarian lesion was diagnosed in 127 females. Sixty-five patients had a benign tumor and 22 had a malignant lesion. Abdominal pain was the most common symptom in the non-malignant lesion group. Patients with ovarian malignancy presented predominantly with abdominal distension and palpable mass. In the non-malignant group imaging studies revealed cystic lesion in 124 patients (68.89%) and solid mass in 10 (5.55%). Malignant lesion showed a solid or mixed structure in all cases. Positive tumor markers were noted in 14 (13.7%) patients with a benign lesion and in 14 (70%) with ovarian malignancy. Large lesions were found in 77.3% of girls with a malignant mass, while only in 32.8% of patients with a benign lesion (p < 0.001). In the group of solid tumors positive tumor marker results occurred more frequently in patients with diagnosed malignant tumors (p < 0.05). Positive tumor markers, large size of the lesion and age below 14 years were independent variables differentiating malignant tumors from non-malignant lesions (p = 0.00000).ConclusionsPredominantly solid structures noted on imaging studies, large dimension and positive tumor markers are clinical predictors of malignancy. A diagnosis of purely cystic lesions with negative markers or of a small size should be an indication for a gonad-sparing procedure. Treatment guidelines for ovarian lesions in children should be established on the basis of multicenter prospective studies and introduced as soon as possible in order to improve and unify the ovarian preservation rates across the pediatric surgical centers.

Our knowledge of ovarian teratomas in children is still far from complete, and much remains to be discovered. Here, we conduct a scoping review of the primary research related to ovarian teratomas in pediatric age. To our knowledge, there is no published synthesis of the literature surrounding ovarian teratomas in children using scoping review methodology. We identified 24 studies from 11 countries; 18 studies were retrospective, 3 were prospective, and 3 were experimental. There were 6 studies concerning mature teratomas, 5 concerning immature teratomas, and 13 that included both tumor types. Overall, 9 out of all the studies concerned more than 50 patients. We revealed 7 major branches of research within the topic of ovarian teratoma in pediatric population: recurrence rate/relapse and follow-up strategy, malignant potential, prognostic factors, use of sparing surgery, differences between the use of laparoscopy and laparotomy, use of chemotherapy, and additional examinations to test the character of the lesion (immature vs. mature). This scoping review has revealed a number of knowledge gaps in the evidence base for pediatric ovarian teratomas. Overall, this topic has not been extensively explored, and more research dedicated exclusively to this tumor and patient population is required.

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Background: Partial resection of the ovary carries a possible risk of fertility reduction. We studied the influence of open ovarian biopsy on ovarian reserve, including anti-Müllerian hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone serum level evaluation, in a prepubertal rat model. Methods: Interventionsthe initial surgery was unilateral ovarian biopsy (38 rats, group B1, B2) or unilateral ovarian biopsy and ovarian resection of the contralateral gonad (38 rats, group BR1, BR2). The second operation was bilateral ovarian resection and total resection of the remaining ovary. All rats had hormone serum levels evaluated. The control group had only a blood test taken and bilateral ovarian resection done at the second intervention (30 rats, group C1, C2). The collected tissue was examined estimating follicle count and anti-Müllerian hormone immunoexpression. Results: Anti-Müllerian hormone levels were significantly lower at the second intervention in the group BR2 but significantly higher in the group C2. Follicle-stimulating hormone levels were significantly higher in all but one group (BR2). Conclusions: Biopsy itself might not reduce ovarian reserve if done properly but we should know its possible negative effects in the case of a single remaining ovary.