Objective: To outline the sonographic and color Doppler flow imaging characteristics of ovarian tumors of low-malignant potential (OCLMP).
Methods: Fourteen women with ovarian tumors of low-malignant potential were compared with 26 women with ovarian cystadenomas and 23 with ovarian carcinomas.
Results: Sonographically, more complex structures and echogenic lesions were found in the OCLMP and malignant tumors than in the cystadenomas, and the difference was statistically significant. Color blood flow imaging revealed a similar resistant index (RI) in the OCLMP (0.487 +/- 0.07) and cystadenomas (0.489 +/- 0.09) when compared with statistically significant lower RI in the ovarian carcinomas (0.391 +/- 0.05) (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: Among young women, the combination of a complex ovarian mass with turbid fluid and echogenic lesions whose color Doppler flow imaging registers in the low range (RI < 0.5) should raise the suspicion of an ovarian tumor of low-malignant potential.