Day 8 A Month of Teal -Types of Ovarian Cancer Tumors

I never realized until the end of my treatment that there were different types of ovarian cancer (OC) tumors. My tumor type,  epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common at 95%.

Epithelial OC tumors come from the surface of the ovary. There are 5 subtypes of epithelial OC.

high grade Serous 70%

mucinous 3%

clear cell 10%

endometrioid 10%

low grade serous < 5%

Germ Cell Ovarian Cancer forms in the egg cells of the ovary.

Teratoma - Mature cystic terotoma, Immature teratoma

Mondermal teratoma

Dysgerminoma

yolk sac tumor

embryomal carcinoma

Choriocarcinoma

 

Sex Cord Stromal forms in the sex cord/ ovarian follicles

granulosa cell

Thecoma

Sertoli

Sertoli-Leydig

Fibroma / Fibrsarcoma

Sclerosing stromal

 

To learn more please visit these sources:  

Pathology and claissification of ovarian tumors 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.11345/pdf

 

New Insights into Ovarian Cancer Pathology

https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/23/suppl_10/x111/205997/New-insights-into-ovarian-cancer-pathology 

 

John Hopkins Pathology website 

http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/typesca.cfm

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!

 

More than Just Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

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When I first heard I had ovarian cancer I didn't know that there were multiple types. I didn't realize that some cancers were on the surface of the ovary , some were in the egg cells and some were on the follicles.  I learned that each of the main types of ovarian cancer had sub-types. Below is a list of the different types of ovarian cancer.

Epithelial Ovarian Cancer ( Forms in the tissue covering the ovary)

Subtypes:

Serous

mucinous

clear cell

endometrioid

transitional cell

Germ Cell Ovarian Cancer ( forms in the egg cells of the ovary)

Teratoma

Mature cystic terotoma

Immature teratoma

Mondermal teratoma

dysgerminoma

yolk sac tumor

embryomal carcinoma

choriocarcinoma

Sex Cord Stromal(forms in the sex cord/ ovarian follicles)

granulosa cell

Thecoma

Sertoli-Leydig

Fibroma

Fibrsarcoma

Sclerosing stromal

Source:John Hopkins Pathology  http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/typesca.cfm

It is important that if you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer you know the exact type. The exact type of cancer you have will help determine the best treatment for you.

Dee

Every day is a Blessing!

Are there really that many different types of Ovarian Cancer?

After writing the last post about CA-125 I started to think about what causes the differences between ovarian cancer tumor cells. Why is cancer antigen CA-125 ,a protein , not elevated (or not being produced at the same level by my cancer tumor cells) as compared to other women who have been diagnosed at the same stage.

When I attended the ASCO meeting, I learned that there are many different subtypes of ovarian cancer. Many more than those I was initially aware of. So I put together a list of the different types of ovarian cancer.

What type/ histology is your ovarian cancer tumor?

Epithelial

• serous
• mucinous
• clear cell
• undifferentiated
• mixed epithelial
• endometrioid

Germ Cell

• teratoma
• dysgerminoma
• yolk sac tumor
• embryomal
• choriocarcinoma

Sex Cord Stromal

• granulosa cell
• Sertoli-Leydig

Check out the source of my list at

John Hopkins Pathology ( http://ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/home.cfm). The site offers excellent description of each of these different types and subtypes.

So it seems that even if you have the most common type of ovarian cancer, epithelial, your cells may be different than a friends since you may have a different sub-type. The ovarian cancer cell type along with the stage is important in determining the type of treatment you will be offered, so knowing that information is important.

I know what subtype I am. What subtype are you? Check your pathology report or ask your doctor. It is good knowledge to have.

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!