What is the differential diagnosis of ovarian cysts and what tests are needed?

What is the differential diagnosis of ovarian cysts? What tests are needed?

The ovaries are relatively small organs in the human body, but they are the site of a variety of tumors. Ovarian tumors can have various properties: single or mixed morphology, unilateral or bilateral, cystic or solid, benign or malignant, and many ovarian tumors can produce female or male sex hormones.

The differential diagnosis of ovarian cysts is as follows:

1. Simple cyst: If the follicular cyst is large and the granulosa cells are squeezed into a flat or cubic shape, it cannot be distinguished from a simple cyst. If a cumulus or residual squeezed granulosa cells are found, it should be diagnosed as a follicular cyst.

2. Cystic granulosa cell tumor: Granulosa cell carcinoma occasionally presents as giant cystic changes, with the tumor tissue being squeezed into the cyst wall in a plaque-like form, but still possessing the characteristics of granulosa tumor cells.

The main examination items for ovarian cysts are as follows:

1. The first step in the examination of ovarian cysts is laparoscopy, which can directly visualize the general condition of the tumor and observe the entire pelvic and abdominal cavity. Multiple biopsies can be performed at suspicious sites and abdominal fluid can be absorbed for cytological examination to confirm the diagnosis and provide postoperative monitoring.

2. Radiological diagnosis is assisted by abdominal plain film, intravenous pyelography, barium swallow examination, lymph node angiography, etc. Computerized tomography (CT) can distinguish benign and malignant tumors, diagnose pelvic masses with intestinal obstruction, and show liver, lung and retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. It is a common examination method for ovarian cysts.

3. If the cyst is a malignant ovarian tumor, it can be detected in the patient's serum through immunological, biochemical and other methods, which is called a tumor marker, indicating the presence of a certain tumor in the body.