Objectives: (1) To assess if there has been an increase of metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) cancers presenting as ovarian cancer; (2) to determine from which areas of the GI tract malignancies are most frequently associated with ovarian metastasis; (3) to determine if a higher proportion of premenopausal women present with an ovarian tumour of GI tract origin.
Methods: A retrospective chart review of women presenting to the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec Hospital from January 1993 to June 2002, searching for the diagnosis of ovarian metastasis of GI origin at the time of primary surgery.
Results: Colon cancer accounted for 65% of the malignancies found to have ovarian metastases at the time of primary surgery, with an increased percentage of cases in recent years. Metastatic GI cancer mimicking ovarian primary was equally as frequent in pre- and postmenopausal women. The use of the cancer antigen (CA) 125/carcinoembryologic antigen (CEA) ratio may help to discriminate GI carcinoma from ovarian carcinoma.
Conclusion: Because GI tumours may present as advanced ovarian cancer, increased vigilance is required in order to make the right diagnosis and offer the best treatment.