Pregnancy after fertility-sparing surgery for borderline ovarian tumors.

Objective: To investigate the ability to conceive and the factors affecting chances of pregnancy among patients with borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) treated with fertility-sparing surgery.

Methods: A retrospective study included nulliparous patients aged 40years or younger who had undergone fertility-sparing surgery for BOTs between January 2005 and June 2012 at a center in Fuzhou, China. Identified patients were followed up by telephone or mail between March 15 and June 30, 2013. Patients who had already been pregnant and those who had not but had discontinued contraception for more than 1year were included in final analyses.

Results: Among 23 included patients, 17 (74%) had become pregnant within the mean follow-up period of 48.2months. The frequencies of previous infertility, sequelae of pelvic inflammatory disease, and endometriosis were all higher in the nonpregnant group than in the pregnant group (P≤0.021 for all). More women in the nonpregnant group that in the pregnant group had BOTs of stage II or worse, but the difference was nonsignificant (P=0.059).

Conclusion: Fertility-sparing surgery in young patients with BOTs is associated with a good pregnancy rate. However, the tumor stage and coexisting infertility factors are important considerations in selecting the optimal surgical approach.