[Clinicopathological study on clear cell carcinoma of the ovary]

The clinical and pathological findings in 23 cases of clear cell carcinoma of the ovary treated at Cancer Institute Hospital from January 1951 to September 1987 are discussed. Clear cell carcinoma accounted for 7.1% of all malignant tumors of the ovary. In the last 21 months of the study, the incidence of clear cell carcinoma increased to 23.7 at the institute. This tumor was frequently associated with endometriosis, and the ratio of nulliparous women was as high as 47.8%. Operative findings revealed adhesion of the tumor to surrounding tissues in more than half of the cases. Moreover, rupture of the tumor capsule during operation occurred in 42.1% of the cases. Incidences of clear cell carcinoma by clinical stage were 82.6% for stage I, 8.7% for stage II, 8.7% for stage III, and 0% for stage IV. The incidences of serous carcinoma were 20.8%, 24.2%, 45.8%, and 9.2%, respectively. Histologically, clear cell carcinoma could be divided into solid and tubular types, with the solid type being slightly more frequent. The three-year survival rate for stage I cases was 95.2% for serous carcinoma and 54.5% for clear cell carcinoma, showing a poor prognosis for clear cell carcinoma. When classified by the histologic type of clear cell carcinoma, the three-year survival rate was 50.0% for solid type and 60.0% for tubular type, with no significant difference. For clear cell carcinoma, the prognosis was poor despite even though most cases were stage I.