Squamous carcinoma arising in dermoid cysts and associated with hypercalcemia: a clinicopathologic study of six cases.

Six cases of squamous carcinoma arising in dermoid cysts are reported. In four out of five cases in which serum calcium was measured hypercalcemia was present and increased pari passu with increases of tumor size. The presence of hypercalcemia in association with an ovarian tumor may therefore point to the possibility of this background.

The oocytic origin of dysgerminoma.

An early dysgerminoma, found by chance in a grossly normal ovary, was completely blocked and multiply sectioned. It was found to have a mainly cortical location, being densest in the subtunical and adjacent zones where primordial follicles are normally most numerous, and to be associated with a reduction of the oocyte count in tumor-involved areas. An oocytic origin of the tumor is inferred from these findings and from other data, including the age incidence, available in the literature.

Giant nodular ovaries with aberrant follicles.

Two cases of an unusual variant of the Stein-Leventhal syndrome and ovary are described and two similar reported cases reviewed. Clinically three of the patients had a delayed menarche followed by irregular periods and one had irregular menorrhagia. Pathologically all four had large firm nodular ovaries of 6-9 cm in diameter, showing a gross excess of stroma and distorted or fragmented atretic follicles with unusual granulosal cell persistence.

Benign endometrioid tumours of the ovary and the Müllerian concept of ovarian epithelial tumours.

The difficulties of a consistent Müllerian interpretation of the epithelial ovarian tumours include their inconstant hormonal responsiveness, the doubtful nature of the clear cell tumour and the apparent rarity of benign endometrioid forms. The reported frequency figures for the different types of endometrioid tumour suggest that their nature is made evident by proliferation. The appearance of indolent forms is explored by a study of inactive neoplastic areas associated with endometrioid carcinomas, or with proliferating endometrioid tumours or arising in endometriosis.

Lipid cell thecomas of the ovary.

An ovarian tumour of mixed thecomatous and lipid cell structure is described and the clinical and pathological features of this and eleven previously reported cases are reviewed. Functionally the tumours resemble lipid cell tumours in being mainly androgenic and are similar in size range and age incidence to the 'adrenal' type. Three tumours however contained hilus (Leydig) cells with Reinke crystalloids.