Elsevier

Human Pathology

Volume 35, Issue 8, August 2004, Pages 918-933
Human Pathology

Borderline ovarian tumor workshop
Borderline ovarian tumors: Diverse contemporary viewpoints on terminology and diagnostic criteria with illustrative images1

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humpath.2004.03.004Get rights and content

Abstract

The National Cancer Institute sponsored a Borderline Ovarian Tumor Workshop held in August 2003 in Bethesda, MD. This report was developed from discussions at the Workshop. The participants acknowledged several areas of disagreement on basic terminology issues and agreed that a glossary with example images would help clarify many commonly misunderstood issues. This report defines terminology used in the pathological description of borderline tumors and their variants, and illustrates examples of each of the most common entities. It also addresses controversial aspects of the definitions and issues involving specimen handling and reporting. For those issues where there is disagreement, the terminology and diagnostic approaches reflecting the differing views are presented.

Section snippets

Definition

A serous tumor lacking significant epithelial atypia or epithelial proliferation.2 Foci resembling a serous BOT (S-BOT) may be present. Available data are insufficient to define a quantitative threshold for distinguishing a cystadenoma with insignificant focal proliferation from the earliest examples of an S-BOT, and there was no general agreement on the cutoff point. In practice, most participants consider that tumors in which foci of S-BOT compose <10% of the tumor should be classified as

Definition

A common peritoneal lesion generally composed of a single gland or aggregates of glands lined by innocuous-appearing flattened, cuboidal, or columnar serous cells that are frequently ciliated.

Description

Minor degrees of atypia, epithelial tufting, and blunt papillae may occur in endosalpingosis. Greater degrees of proliferation are more characteristic of the noninvasive epithelial implants often associated with S-BOT.

Definition

A serous-type epithelial proliferation that involves peritoneal surfaces and lacks

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the NIH Office of Rare Diseases, the NCI Office of Women’s Health, and the NCI Cancer Diagnosis Program for their support.

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    1

    This report contains statements that include a variety of suggestions and recommendations. In view of the wide range of opinions regarding the tumors under discussion, none of these statements is intended as, or should be interpreted as, representing the “standard of care.”

    2

    Drs. Soslow and Vang contributed equally to this work and are considered co-equal second authors.

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