Objective: To study the treatment methods and the prognostic factors of pure dysgerminoma of the ovary.
Methods: Sixty cases histologically confirmed pure ovarian dysgerminoma treated in our hospital, from May 1959 to Oct. 1992 were retrospectively analysed. Factors mainly studied were: age, symptoms, clinical staging and treatment methods.
Results: The median age of this series was 21. The main symptoms were abdominal mass, pain and distension. Thirty two out of 60 cases were stage I, 2 were stage II, 5 were stage III and 21 with recurrences or persistence of the disease. All cases excepting one case received surgery alone were treated by surgery combined with external radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Nine cases died of the disease. The actual 5-year survival rate was 85.17%. The survival rate for patients with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is 95% and that for patients with radiotherapy is 76.1%; no statistic significance was shown.
Conclusions: In pure ovarian dysgerminoma surgery combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy showed high complete remission rates and excellent survival rates. For younger patients and those with gestation desires as well as patients with advanced diseases, adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery might be a better choice.