Long-term consequences following conservative management of epithelial ovarian cancer in an infertile patient

A 35-year-old woman with primary infertility underwent an ovarian cystectomy for a 5 x 4 cm left adnexal mass. There was no macroscopic evidence of metastatic disease. The final pathology report revealed a poorly differentiated serous cystadenocarcinoma. Because the patient desired to retain child-bearing capacity, she refused a surgical staging of her ovarian cancer. She elected to receive combination chemotherapy. This was then followed by a negative reassessment laparotomy. The patient was diagnosed with recurrent, metastatic ovarian carcinoma 10 years later.