Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma Arising from Adenofibroma in a Patient with Endometriosis of the Ovary

Origins based clinical and molecular complexities of epithelial ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of all common gynaecological malignancies in women worldwide. Ovarian cancer comprises of >15 distinct tumor types and subtypes characterized by histopathological features, environmental and genetic risk factors, precursor lesions and molecular events during oncogenesis. Recent studies on gene signature profiling of different subtypes of ovarian cancer have revealed significant genetic heterogeneity between and within each ovarian cancer histological subtype. Thus, an immense interest have shown towards a more personalized medicine for understanding the clinical and molecular complexities of four major types of epithelial ovarian cancer (serous, endometrioid, clear cell, and mucinous). As such, further in depth studies are needed for identification of molecular signalling network complexities associated with effective prognostication and targeted therapies to prevent or treat metastasis. Therefore, understanding the metastatic potential of primary ovarian cancer and therapeutic interventions against lethal ovarian cancer for the development of personalized therapies is very much indispensable. Consequently, in this review we have updated the key dysregulated genes of four major subtypes of epithelial carcinomas. We have also highlighted the recent advances and current challenges in unravelling the complexities of the origin of tumor as well as genetic heterogeneity of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian Clear Cell Adenofibroma of Low Malignant Potential Developing Into Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma

Ovarian clear cell adenofibroma is uncommon, and borderline clear cell adenofibroma (low malignant potential) is extremely rare. Borderline clear cell adenofibromas may represent the precursor lesion of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the ovary, but this has not been established. We present a case of a woman in her mid-50s with a clear cell adenofibroma ranging from benign to borderline to frankly invasive. While some clear cell adenocarcinomas are thought to arise from endometriosis, this range of findings supports the theory that some ovarian clear cell adenocarcinomas originate from borderline tumors.