A Preoperative Scoring System for Adnexal Mass in Children and Adolescents to Preserve Their Future Fertility

Study Objective: To develop a predictive score for ovarian malignancy to avoid unnecessary adnexectomy in cases of adnexal mass in pediatric and adolescent girls. Design: A population-based retrospective study on girls who underwent surgery for an ovarian mass with normal levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin and alpha fetoprotein between 1996 and 2016. Setting: Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France. Participants: Eighty-one patients who received surgery for ovarian tumor. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measure was the rate of malignant and borderline tumor. A preoperative scoring system was constructed after multivariate analysis. Results: The rate of malignant ovarian tumor was 6/81 (7%), borderline tumor was 7/81 (9%) (ie, outcome measure: 16%), and benign tumor was 84%. In a univariate analysis, the characteristics significantly associated with malignancy were early puberty, palpable mass, size and content of the tumor, and positive epithelial tumor markers (carcinoma antigen 125, carcinoembryonic antigen, and carcinoma antigen 19-9). The predictive malignancy score was on the basis of 2 variables obtained after multivariate analysis: tumor size and cystic content. The score defined 3 groups at risk for malignancy: low risk, middle-risk, and high-risk. The sensitivity for detecting malignancy was 1.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1-18.4), 26.2% (95% CI, 11.6-49.0), and 53.1% (95% CI, 29.1-75.8), respectively. Conclusion: We set up a simple predictive score of malignancy on the basis of objective criteria to help decision-making on whether or not ovarian-sparing surgery is feasible in case of children and adolescents with ovarian tumors and normal human chorionic gonadotrophin and alpha fetoprotein levels while ensuring oncologic safety.