Fibromas of the Ovary Simulating Malignant Tumors

Abstract

Fibromas of the ovary are benign tumors, their removal is attended by little risk, and the operation is followed by complete and permanent alleviation of the patient's symptoms. Because prior to operation the syndrome is frequently interpreted as being the result of an extensive pelvic malignancy, the dramatic reversal of a poor prognosis and the patient's complete recovery are exceptionally gratifying to both patient and physician.

Fibromas of the ovary may be divided into two groups. (1) The small, symptomless, “incidental” fibromas, 1 or 2 cm. in diameter, which are found in the course of laparotomies, are of no clinical significance and will not be discussed. (2) In the second group are the rapidly growing fibromas of the ovary which attain large size with surprising rapidity, and occur characteristically in patients well beyond the menopause. They tend to produce ascites or to become twisted on their pedicles and form a large, fixed, tender mass in the pelvis. Because these tumors occur in women of the “cancer age” and grow so fast that it seems inconceivable that they could be benign, and because they are frequently associated with ascites and fixation of the tumor mass, it is little wonder that at first such tumors are frequently thought to be malignant and are only recognized as benign at operation.

The latter type of fibroma of the ovary is not common. In the last twelve years, only seven such tumors have been removed at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital. In each instance the patient. . .