The ovarian cancer pathology report is an important basis for oncologists to formulate follow-up treatment plans. However, many ovarian cancer patients and their families are difficult to read due to the strong professionalism of pathological reports. In order to help people to have better understanding of the medical terminology in the report, we have collated the common terms in the report for preliminary interpretation.

If you want to know more about the report on ovarian cancer, you can make an appointment online or contact our Manila office at 02-8-822122 (Manila Office) or 0917-599-2277 (Cebu Office), professional oncologists will help to answer your questions.

1. Clinical Stage of Ovarian Cancer

According to FIGO2009 staging criteria, the pathological staging of ovarian cancer surgery is as follows:

Stage I: The tumor is confined to the ovary

Stage II: tumor invades one or bilateral ovaries with pelvic diffusion;

Stage III: tumor invades one or bilateral ovary with microscopically confirmed extraluminal pelvic metastasis and/or regional lymph node metastasis, liver surface metastasis;

Stage IV: distant metastasis beyond the abdominal cavity, reaching pleural effusion and liver.

2. What is the Difference between Ovarian Cancer and Ovarian Cysts?

An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac that develops in one or bilateral ovaries. Generally, ovarian cysts don’t develop into cancer. - although they may cause similar symptoms such as pelvic pain, abdominal pressure and difficulty emptying the bladder. Cysts usually develop within the menstrual cycle of women. Postmenopausal women with ovarian cysts have a higher risk of developing cancer.

3. What is the difference among Ovarian Cancer, Peritoneal Cancer and Ovarian Cancer?

The fallopian tube is considered to be a source of some ovarian cancer. In fact, cancer cells rarely spread from other parts of the body to the fallopian tubes, they usually spread to the ovaries; Peritoneal cancer occurs in the peritoneum, covering surface of the abdominal cavity or the peritoneum of other organs.

Although the origin of these cancer types differs from others, ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and peritoneal cancer are usually treated with same techniques.

4. What does Elevated CA125 Mean?

CA125 is an indicator of ovarian tumors and is widely used clinically to diagnose ovarian cancer. It evaluates the therapeutic effect of ovarian cancer, the sensitivity of chemotherapy, and whether there is recurrence of tumor after treatment. The normal value of CA125 in the blood of healthy women is less than 35 U/mL. While elevated CA125 doesn’t necessarily indicates ovarian cancer.

Common malignant tumors such as peritoneal cancer, fallopian tube cancer, endometrial cancer, and breast cancer may lead to elevated CA125. CA125 is most common in the serum of patients with epithelial ovarian tumors (slurry tumors). 80% of patients with ovarian epithelial tumors have elevated CA125 detected in their serum. Early-stage ovarian cancer seldom cause elevated CA125, so CA125 is just one of auxiliary examinations for ovarian cancer detection.

If you have any doubt about the ovarian cancer pathology report, you can make an appointment online or call us directly at 02-8-822122 (Manila Office) or 0917-599-2277 (Cebu Office) . Professional oncologists will help you out.

Tips from oncologist at St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou: The above is only a partial interpretation of the pathology report of ovarian cancer. We must find a professional oncologist for a comprehensive interpretation on a detailed pathology report, so that patients can receive guidance and treatment on time to avoid irreversible consequences.