Background; Ovarian masses are very common in pre- and postmenopausal women and are usually an incidental finding. The treatment of an ovarian cyst relies on its nature, and accurate preoperative discrimination of benign and malignant cysts is therefore of crucial importance. This study was done to ascertain malignancy in adolescent women having ovarian masses. Objective; To determine the frequency of malignancy in adolescents and young women presenting with ovarian masses. Material and Methods; Patients (n = 98) fulfilling inclusion criteria from outpatient department of Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Pakistan were included in the study. Informed consent was taken from each patient ensuring confidentiality and the fact that there was no risk to the patient while taking part in this study other than the disease itself. Detailed history and physical examination of our study cases were arranged by the researcher itself. Data were entered and analyzed by SPSS. Results; Mean age of our study cases was 24.27 ± 5.19 years (with minimum age of our study cases was 15 years while maximum age was 34 years). Our study results have indicated that majority of our study cases i.e. 59 (60.2 %) were aged equal/less than 25 years. Of these 98 study cases, 43 (43.9 %) belonged to rural areas and 55 (56.1%) belonged to urban areas. Monthly family income up to Rs. 35000 was noted in 58 (59.2%) and more than Rs. 35000 was noted in 40 (40.8%) of our study cases. Of these 98 study cases, 66 (67.3%) were illiterate and 32 (32.7%) were literate. Family history of family cancer was noted in 19 (19.4%) of our study cases. Mean disease duration was 14.78 ± 5.13 months. Mean body mass index of our study cases was 26.02 ± 2.13 kg/m2 and obesity was present in 23 (23.5 %) of our study cases. Of these 98 study cases, 27 (27.6 %) were having history of use of oral contraceptives. Malignancy was diagnosed in 23 (23.5 %) of our study cases. Conclusion; There was high frequency of malignancy noted among women having ovarian masses in our study cases. Ovarian masses were significantly associated with residential status and family history. Gynecologists treating such patients should monitor such suspected cases for early diagnosis which will improve treatment rate and quality of life of our patients. Keywords; Ovarian Masses, Malignancy, Frequency, adolescents
