These tumors are also called LMP tumors, atypical proliferating tumors, or borderline tumors. When seen on ultrasound and CT scan, these tumors look the same as invasive epithelial ovarian cancers. To know for certain that the tumor is not an invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, a biopsy must be done. A biopsy sample is usually taken during surgery. Surgery for LMP tumors is similar to the surgery for invasive ovarian cancer, with the goals of removing the tumor along with full staging and debulking (see the previous sections that discuss treatment of ovarian cancer).

For women who have finished having children, the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are removed. Surgical staging is done to see if the tumor has spread outside of the ovary. This involves removing the omentum and some lymph nodes, and doing washings of the abdomen and pelvis. If the patient wants to be able to become pregnant in the future, only the ovary with the tumor and the fallopian tube on that side is removed. Rarely, just the ovarian cyst containing the tumor is removed. These patients still should have surgical staging to see if the tumor has spread. If the tumor is only in one ovary, the patient is usually observed without further treatment. Experts recommend follow-up visits at least every 6 months for the first 5 years after diagnosis. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are not generally the first treatments used for tumors that have not spread outside the ovary.

If the tumor has spread outside of the ovary when it is first diagnosed, the surgeon will remove as much of it as possible (debulk it). Treatment after surgery depends on something called invasion. Invasion is when one kind of cell grows into areas that they don't belong. Part of what makes a cancer cell dangerous is its ability to invade other tissues. When LMP tumors spread, they can form tumor implants on the lining of the abdomen (the peritoneum) and on the surface of organs in the abdomen and pelvis. When these implants are growing into the peritoneum or the organs, they are said to be invasive. If the tumors don't grow into the abdominal lining or organs, they are called non-invasive.

Patients with non-invasive spread from an LMP tumor are usually observed without further treatment after debulking surgery. If the tumor implants are invasive, then chemotherapy may be offered. The chemotherapy given is usually the same as the chemotherapy used for invasive ovarian cancer. Observation is often recommended for LMP tumors because they grow very slowly and even when they have spread they are rarely fatal.

If the tumor comes back after initial surgery, further debulking surgery may be considered. Chemotherapy and, rarely, radiation therapy are also options for recurrent LMP tumors.

Last Medical Review: 08/27/2009
Last Revised: 08/27/2009