Relationship of ovarian neoplasms and body mass index.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the distribution of benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms among overweight and obese women.


METHODS
A review of patients who presented with a preoperative diagnosis of a pelvic mass between 1996 and 2001 was performed; 1,096 patients were identified. Patients were stratified by body mass index into 3 groups: normal weight, overweight and obese. The pathologic findings in the 3 groups were compared.


RESULTS
Complete follow-up was available on 668 patients. Overall, 248 patients were obese, 176 were overweight, and 244 had a normal body mass index. A significant difference existed in the pathologic findings in the 3 groups (p = 0.049). Women with normal body mass indices were more likely to have malignant ovarian tumors (35.2%) than were the overweight (23.9%) and obese (25.8%) women. Conversely, borderline ovarian tumors were less frequent in women with body mass indices of <25 (5.7%) than in the overweight (13.1%) and obese (10.9%) patients. Benign ovarian neoplasms occurred in 20-25% of the women.


CONCLUSIONS
Significant differences exist in the distribution of ovarian neoplasms among women with different body mass indices. Obese women are more likely to have ovarian tumors of low malignant potential, while women with normal body mass indices more commonly have invasive ovarian tumors. Body mass index may be an important factor in preoperative counseling and risk assessment.
Wright
Jason D
JD
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. wrightj@msnotes.wustl.edu
Powell
Matthew A
MA
Mutch
David G
DG
Rader
Janet S
JS
Gibb
Randall K
RK
Gao
Feng
F
Herzog
Thomas J
TJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D010048:Ovarian Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors