Effect of Neonatal Ovarian Cysts on Infant Growth

Abstract

Ovarian follicular cysts were diagnosed antenatally or postnatally by routine obstetric ultrasound scanning in 7 infants. In 5 of them the serum levels of estradiol (E2), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), osteocalcin and other hormones were measured serially after birth for almost one year. The patients' growth and skeletal maturation were also assessed. The elevated serum E2 levels (242-8,300 pg/mL) in cases with ovarian cysts fell after cystectomy/cyst aspiration or conservative management, but their serum E2 levels remained high compared with those of control infants for 1-5 months. The IGF-I and osteocalcin serum levels of some patients were also relatively high.Furthermore, a tendency to growth acceleration during early infancy and advancement of skeletal age were each observed in two patients.Our present observations suggest that neonatal ovarian cysts associated with elevated serum E2 levels during early infancy may affect the statural growth and bone maturation of female infants.