Borderline ovarian tumors, fertility-sparing surgery and pregnancy outcome.

Borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) represent a type of epithelial tumors having a biologic intermediate behavior between clearly malignant and straight benign tumors. Most of BOTs interest women during fertile age, for which it is necessary to consider a fertility sparing surgery.To evaluate the clinical aspects and pregnancy rate of women affected by borderline ovarian tumors who have undergone fertility sparing surgery.A study of 22 patients affected by BOTs who have been treated with a fertility sparing surgery was conducted between January 2005 and October 2011 at Sant'Andrea Hospital, "Sapienza" University of Rome. The patients' characteristics analyzed were: age, histological type, tumor size, adnexal surgery, pre-operative serum CA-125, diagnostic circumstances, number of patients who became pregnant and number of overall pregnancies.Among the 22 patients treated with a fertility sparing surgery, only sixteen wanted to get pregnant. Eleven patents out of 16 accomplished it. The pregnancy rate was 68.7%.Fertility sparing surgery can be considered a safe procedure for young women affected by borderline ovarian tumors.