title: Serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas associated with high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs) have been documented in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOCs). However, the rate of association between STICs and HGSOCs and, therefore, the fraction of HGSOCs that are likely to have originated from the fallopian tube (FT), has remained unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To appraise the literature describing the association between STICs and established HGSOCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies were included if they evaluated the frequency of STICs in HGSOCs, and were published in an English peer-reviewed journal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Appropriate studies were evaluated for their compliance with the 'Strengthening and Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)' criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten articles met the study selection criteria. The reported coexistence between STICs and HGSOCs ranged from 11% to 61% (mean: 31%, 95% CI: 17-46%). STICs were rarely found in other gynaecological cancers. Small sample size, lack of objective criteria to identify STICs and the retrospective nature of the studies contributed to the variability in reporting the rate of the association.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  STICs were identified commonly in the FTs of women with HGSOC. Finding the true rate of association between STICs and HGSOCs will require further investigations. While there is evidence that a fraction of HGSOCs arise from the FTs, an accurate estimate of that fraction remains to be determined. The lack of an accurate estimate of the association makes it difficult to evaluate the potential magnitude of reduction of HGSOCs following prophylactic salpingectomy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A systematic review of the incidence of STICs in HGSOCs identifies significant methodological inconsistencies.
authors.affiliation: Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory, The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK.|School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory, The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK.|Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gaitskell
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), Madrid, Spain.|Biomedical Network Research Centre on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory, The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK.|Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albukhari
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsaltas
authors.affiliation: Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory, The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK.|Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial / Q000473:pathology*; D005185:Fallopian Tube Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D018297:Neoplasms, Cystic, Mucinous, and Serous / Q000473:pathology*; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000473:pathology*; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000473:pathology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma; serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas