Fractal tumor growth of ovarian cancer: sonographic evaluation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether sonographically depicted ovarian tumor growth is fractal, and the mean fractal dimension differs according to stages of the disease and histologic types.

Methods: The fractal dimensions of outlines of sonographically depicted solid components in 160 ovarian tumors were measured using a box-counting method.

Results: The mean fractal dimensions of the surface of intracystic solid components in serous, mucinous, endometrioid, and clear cell adenocarcinoma were 1.