A histopathological overview of ovarian lesions in Benin City, Nigeria: How common are the functional cysts?

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to highlight the histopathological synopsis of ovarian lesions with emphasis on functional ovarian cysts and to compare our study with findings of other centers. Materials and Methods: Hematoxylin and eosin stained-slides of ovarian biopsies diagnosed at the Ashamas Foundation Diagnostic Centre, Benin City for 10 years were archived, scrutinized, and studied. Request forms were analyzed for clinical biodata and diagnosis, and data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. Results: A total of 236 ovarian biopsies were reviewed. Of this, 121 (51.3%) were nonneoplastic. Again 79 (33.5%) were benign neoplastic tumors and 36 (15.6%) were malignant tumors. Out of the 121 nonneoplastic (functional cysts) lesions, corpus luteal cyst was the most commonly encountered, constituting 41 (33.9%). The peaks age incidence for nonneoplastic and benign neoplastic lesions occurred in the 3 rd decade. Two peaks age incidence was noted for malignant tumors-5 th and 7 th decades. Germ cell tumor constituted the most common neoplastic ovarian tumor ( n = 59; 51.8%) diagnosed. Conclusion: Functional ovarian cysts were the most commonly encountered ovarian lesions in our locality. The most common variety of functional cyst was corpus luteal cyst and hemorrhagic cyst with majority occurring in the reproductive age groups. Among the ovarian tumors, germ cell tumors were the most commonly seen.