Ovarian Cancer and Pregnancy—A Current Problem in Perinatal Medicine: A Comprehensive Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Nowadays, the number of malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy is increasing. Despite the fact that diagnosis is occurring on a global scale, their number is still too limited to prepare proper standards of treatment. These problems appear specifically in the least developed countries. The aim of our review is to bring ovarian cancer (OC) as a complication of pregnancy to the attention of doctors and other medical professionals who have to cope with these rare cases. We noted that a variety of malignancies can be included under the heading “ovarian cancer”, and we describe obstetric and patient outcomes, which depend on the histopathology of the tumor. We focus on the current recommendations for diagnostics and treatment, and present future possibilities for the management of OC. ABSTRACT: The frequency of concomitant adnexal tumors in pregnancy is reported to be at 0.15–5.7%, while ovarian cancer complicates 1 in 15,000 to 1 in 32,000 pregnancies, being the second most common gynecologic cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. The aim of this review is to discuss the problem of ovarian cancer complicating pregnancy and the current recommendations for diagnostics and treatment, with an emphasis on the risk to the fetus. A detailed analysis of the literature found in the PubMed and MEDLINE databases using the keywords “ovarian cancer”, “ovarian malignancy”, “adnexal masses”, “ovarian tumor” and “pregnancy” was performed. There were no studies on a large series of pregnant women treated for ovarian malignancies and the management has not been well established. The diagnostics and therapeutic procedures need to be individualized with respect to the histopathology of the tumor, its progression, the gestational age at the time of diagnosis and the mother’s decisions regarding pregnancy preservation. The multidisciplinary cooperation of specialists in perinatal medicine, gynecological oncology, chemotherapy, neonatology and psychology seems crucial in order to obtain the best possible maternal and neonatal outcomes.