Malignant transformation of ovarian mature
benign teratomas is an uncommon complication which often occurs in the
postmenopausal period. Clinical presentation is
similar to that of benign
ovarian cysts. The
diagnosis of malignant transformation is often made per-operatively by the break of the
capsule and the adhesions of the
tumor or during histological examination. The
diagnosis is based on the
association between a mature
teratoma and a non metastatic unitissular,
carcinoma or
sarcoma. All histological forms can be met, but
squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 75% of all cases. We
report the case of a 70-year-old
woman who had a
squamous cell carcinoma which developed on a
teratoma of the
ovary, for whom the
disease was fatal. The
survival rate for this kind of ovarian tumour is reduced, with 15 to 30%
survival after 5 years, irrespective of stages and histological types. Although it is not easy to define the best requested
therapy,
surgery associated with
polychemotherapy or
radiotherapy is apparently the only way of improving the poor
prognosis for these tumours