Low-malignant potential epithelial tumors of the ovary: a clinicopathological study.

Low-malignant potential (LMP) epithelial tumors of the ovary are a group which occupy an intermediate position between the benign and those of the frankly malignant ovarian neoplasms. The actual incidence, present age and treatment are still being discussed. During the period 1991-1996, from the 650 ovarian tumors which were diagnosed and treated in our institution, 401 were epithelial tumors. The LMP serous epithelial tumors consisted of 4.36% of all serous tumors while LMP mucinous tumors were 9.70% of all mucinous tumors. The LMP serous tumors had an 8 cm diameter on average, 83% were unilocular and 76.5% unilateral. The LMP mucinous tumors had a 17 cm diameter on average, 95% were multilocular and 95% unilateral. The mean age at diagnosis was 39 years for LMP serous tumors and 48 years for LMP mucinous tumors.