Introduction: The objective of the study was to investigate the clinical characters, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of nongestational ovarian choriocarcinoma.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was done on 21 patients with nongestational ovarian choriocarcinoma treated in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1985 to October 2008. All patients' conditions were diagnosed by histopathologic examination; in 3 of them, the diagnosis was confirmed by DNA polymorphism analysis at 12 short tandem repeat loci.

Results: Correct diagnosis was achieved in only 3 patients before initial treatment. All patients received standard multiple-drug combined chemotherapy and underwent an operation. The mean number of chemotherapy courses for each patient was 10. Of the 21 patients, 16 achieved complete remission, and 4 obtained partial remission; 1 died. In a median follow-up of 71.4 months, the 5-year overall survival rate was 79.4%.

Conclusions: The early diagnosis of nongestational ovarian choriocarcinoma is expected to be improved. DNA polymorphism analysis is a useful tool in determining the origin of ovarian choriocarcinoma. The prognosis is optimistic if managed with standard multiple-drug chemotherapy combined with surgical treatment.