The Brenner tumor. A clinicopathologic study of 57 cases.

Abstract

An unselected series of 57 cases of Brenner tumor is reported. The tumors occurred at a mean age of 49 years. Most were discovered as incidental findings during surgery for other pelvic disorders. A few Brenner tumors were symptomatic due to their large size, but none were diagnosed preoperatively. The incidence of bilateral tumors was 7%. No malignant Brenner tumors occurred in our series. The Brenner tumor is best considered as a tumor composed of epithelium of urinary tract (urothelial) type. In many cases, the tumor appears to arise in close relationship to the coelomic epithelium of the ovary. The tumor may occur either in the cortex or in the medullary region adjacent to the hilus. In the cortex, it may arise from Walthard nests or coelomic inclusion cysts, and, in the hilus, it may arise from the rete ovarii or mesonephric remnants. The ovarian stroma responds to the epithelial proliferation and forms the stroma of the tumor. The tumor stroma may on occasion produce clinically significant quantities of steroid hormones. This function appears to correlate best with stromal luteinization and a large content of doubly refractile lipid.