Oncological and Reproductive Outcomes after Fertility-Sparing Surgery in Patients with Advanced-Stage Serous Borderline Ovarian Tumor: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Abstract

Our study aimed to analyze the prognosis and reproductive outcomes of patients with advanced-stage serous borderline ovarian tumors (SBOTs) who underwent fertility-sparing surgery (FSS). This study included patients aged ≤ 45 years diagnosed with advanced-stage (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics II and III) SBOTs who were treated with FSS. Conservative surgeries were performed in 65 patients with advanced-stage SBOT with a median age of 28 years (range, 16–44 years). Nine patients had invasive implants. The median follow-up was 81.7 months. Forty-six patients (70.8%) had a relapse (median time to first recurrence, 22.8 months). Thirteen patients subsequently developed recurrence as an invasive disease, and two died due to disease progression. After multivariate analysis, age < 30 years and incomplete cytoreduction were independent risk factors for recurrence. Invasive implants and postoperative residual tumors were significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival. Of 35 patients attempting to conceive, 12 underwent assisted reproductive technology. Additionally, 19 pregnancies, including 15 full-term births, were documented. FSS provides a good chance of reproductive success in women with advanced-stage SBOT who desire fertility preservation, but it has a high recurrence rate and risk of malignancy transformation. Patients with invasive implants should be strictly selected for FSS.

Keywords

• serous borderline ovarian tumor
• advanced-stage
• fertility-sparing surgery
• recurrence
• reproductive outcomes