A patient with a noninvasive mucinous ovarian borderline tumor presenting with late pleural metastases

Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2015 Mar;34(2):143-50. doi: 10.1097/PGP.0000000000000130.

Abstract

We describe a patient diagnosed with a noninvasive intestinal-type mucinous ovarian borderline tumor presenting with pleural metastases 4 yr later. This was confirmed by an identical mutation in TP53 in both tumors. Metastases of ovarian borderline tumors outside the pelvis or abdominal cavity are extremely rare. A large epidemiologic search in the Dutch Pathology Registry that was conducted in support of this case, identifying 1812 intestinal-type mucinous ovarian borderline tumors, suggests that microinvasion is associated with a higher risk of disease spread. Our case illustrates that intestinal-type mucinous ovarian borderline tumor with intraepithelial carcinoma might also have a higher risk of metastasis, assuming that microinvasion occurs in the presence of intraepithelial carcinoma. Both intraepithelial carcinoma and microinvasion could be a trigger for more extensive tumor sampling to prevent sampling error of (micro)invasive adenocarcinoma. In addition, this case draws attention to the developmental spectrum of Types I and II ovarian carcinomas. Borderline tumors harboring a TP53 mutation require further studying to examine whether they might develop into high-grade Type II carcinomas.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / genetics
  • Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / secondary*
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / genetics
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Pleural Neoplasms / genetics
  • Pleural Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics

Substances

  • TP53 protein, human
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53