title: The blood flow characteristics in borderline ovarian tumors based on both color Doppler ultrasound and histopathological analyses.
abstract: To clarify the tumor behavior in borderline ovarian tumors, we examined the characteristics of neovascularization in these tumors by using a transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound (TV-CDU). Twelve patients with borderline ovarian tumors were preoperatively evaluated for the characteristics of intratumoral blood flow by TV-CDU, using both the resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI). As a control group, 100 patients with benign ovarian tumors and 31 patients with malignant ovarian tumors were also examined by TV-CDU. An intratumoral blood flow was significantly detected in both borderline (91.6%; 11/12) and malignant ovarian tumors (90.3%; 28/31), but not in benign ovarian tumors (53%; 53/100) (P < 0.01). In addition, both the mean RI and mean PI values were significantly lower in the borderline (RI; 0.45, PI; 0.67) and malignant ovarian tumors (RI; 0.39, PI; 0.58) than those in the benign ovarian tumors (RI; 0.61, PI; 1.05) (P < 0.01). In mucinous tumors, the borderline tumors showed a significantly high intratumoral vascularity (P < 0. 01) and both borderline and malignant tumors significantly demonstrated a low-resistance blood flow (P < 0.01), in comparison to those of the benign tumors. Mucinous borderline tumors of the intestinal type also tended to have a lower RI as well as a lower PI value than müllerian type. Regarding neovascularization as represented by intratumoral blood flow characteristics, this study thus suggests that a close relationship exists in the tumor behavior between borderline and malignant ovarian tumors, especially in mucinous epithelial tumors.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Udo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Obama
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hachisuga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawarabayashi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods; D014621:Vagina