Pseudomyxoma peritonei arising from mature ovarian teratoma, a rare entity: Report of six cases and review of current literature

Background: Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a clinical syndrome characterised by intraperitoneal accumulation of mucus due to mucinous neoplasia. It is a rare condition affecting 1-2 per million individuals per year. The majority of PMP arises from a ruptured mucinous appendiceal tumour, with infrequent occurrences from other primary gastrointestinal tumours and mucinous ovarian tumours. PMP arising from a mature ovarian teratoma is a rare entity, with limited case reports in the literature. Given the infrequent and sporadic occurrences of these tumours, little is known about the tumour behaviour and prognosis.

Case series and literature review: Herein, we report six cases of PMP arising from a mature ovarian teratoma who were treated with primary cytoreductive surgery (CRS), with one case of recurrence. Literature review identified 21 cases from 12 manuscripts. Nineteen patients were treated with CRS alone, with two patients receiving adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Follow up data were variably reported, with no recurrence in 20 patients during their follow up of 5-54 months. One patient reported to have died of disease at 49 months.

Conclusion: Despite the lack of high-quality evidence and limitations of small case series, our review indicates that close surveillance after CRS could be considered as the preferred treatment over more morbid CRS and HIPEC, with HIPEC reserved for patients who recur or progress after CRS.