Summary

The diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma in pregnancy is rare (incidence of 0.018–0.073/1000 pregnancies). Its rarity is reflected by a paucity of cases reported in the literature. The present report concerns a case of advanced serous ovarian carcinoma in a full-term pregnancy. This was an incidental finding discovered during an emergency caesarean section for presumed fetal distress. The majority of ovarian carcinomas diagnosed in pregnancy present at early stages, are associated with a good prognosis and are non-epithelial type tumours. Advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma diagnosed in pregnancy however is associated with a poor prognosis. Case reporting should certainly contain detailed information on clinicopathological variables and treatment regimens. Longer-term maternal and neonatal outcomes are more difficult to substantiate in case reporting. The authors therefore feel that data centralisation would be beneficial in identifying optimal management strategies in these rare tumours and in other malignant tumours diagnosed and treated during pregnancy.