Serous surface papillary carcinoma of the ovary: a clinicopathologic study of 16 cases.

Sixteen cases of serous surface papillary carcinoma of the ovary are analyzed. The patients were 45 to 75 years of age. The most common presenting symptoms were malaise, weight loss, and abdominal enlargement. Ascites was a common finding on physical examination. Bilateral ovarian involvement was seen in all cases. Gross examination revealed tumor growing exophytically from the surfaces of the ovaries, with slight to moderate invasion of the underlying parenchyma. Microscopic examination showed serous papillary carcinoma. In most of the cases, tumor was widely disseminated throughout the abdominal cavity. It could not be determined with certainty whether the extraovarian tumor represented metastatic spread or synchronous tumor formation. The survival of the patients was shorter than that of patients with ovarian serous papillary carcinoma of the same grade without predominant surface involvement. The authors believe that the carcinoma in the ovary is a distinct subtype of serous papillary carcinoma of the ovary, rather than a primary carcinoma of the peritoneum with secondary ovarian involvement.