title: Types and frequency of ovarian masses in children over a 10-year period.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ovarian masses represent a range of pathology from benign cyst to highly aggressive malignant tumors. It has been estimated that gynecologic malignancy account for approximately 2% of all types of cancer in children, 60-70% of these lesions arise in the ovary.
  
  
  METHODS
  All ovarian masses which were resected or biopsied in Mofid Children's Hospital from 2002 to 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. Patient's age, presenting symptoms, surgical procedures, pathological diagnosis, postoperative treatment, and outcome were obtained from medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-seven girls (aged 40.2±57months with the range of 1 day to 15 years) underwent different types of ovarian operations (24 salpingo-oophorectomies, 10 oophorectomies, 21 ovarian cystectomies, and 2 ovarian biopsies). 50 children had unilateral ovarian mass (49.1% right and 38.6 left, respectively). The most common presenting symptoms were acute abdominal pain in 46%.Twenty one (37%) of our patients had ovarian torsion. Four (7%) patients had benign tumors, and 8 (14%) had malignant tumors. There were no age differences between those with benign type (8.2±2.6years) and malignant tumors (6.1±5.3years) (P=0.683).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ovarian tumors are rare in children. Most are benign, in children presenting with acute abdominal pain, ovarian mass particularly neoplastic tumors should be suspected. An important proportion of these patients may require postoperative chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sadeghian
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Irandokht
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sadeghian
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirshemirani
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khaleghnejad Tabari
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ghoroubi
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Development Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdollah Gorji
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Fatollah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roushanzamir
keywords: Abdominal pain; Children; Ovarian tumors; Postoperative outcome