Effects of Fertility-Sparing Surgery on Prognosis and Fertility of Patients With Ovarian Borderline Tumors.

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of fertility-sparing surgery in patients with ovarian borderline tumors (BOT). Methods A total of 121 BOT patients undergoing fertility-sparing surgery between January 2010 and October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.The univariate analysis,multivariate analysis,and survival curves were employed to evaluate the clinicopathological and surgical variables and fertility. Results The 121 BOT patients included in this study showed the 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate of 65.8% and the recurrence rate of 30.5%.A total of 53 patients attempted to conceive and 40 (33.06%) of the patients achieved successful pregnancy.Different methods of fertility-sparing surgery did not affect the tumor recurrence rate,RFS,or pregnancy rate.The multivariate analysis indicated that the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage ≥Ⅱ was an independent risk factor affecting both postoperative recurrence and RFS (P=0.011,OR=6.504,95%CI=1.534-27.58;P=0.033,HR=2.589,95%CI=1.082-6.194) in BOT patients.Tissue type (mucinous) was negatively correlated with the risk of recurrence after fertility-sparing surgery (P=0.011,OR=0.270,95%CI=0.099-0.739).The two unilateral surgical methods showed differences in the amount of intraoperative bleeding (P=0.010),postoperative hospital stay (P=0.001),duration of antibiotic use (P=0.002),and tumor rupture rate (P=0.030),which were not significantly different between the two bilateral surgical methods. Conclusions For young patients with fertility requirements,fertility-sparing surgery is safe and effective.After a comprehensive assessment of clinicopathological factors,unilateral cystectomy and bilateral cystectomy may be recommended as the preferred choice of treatment.For the patients with advanced FIGO stages who strongly prefer fertility sparing,fertility-sparing surgery can be performed with fully informed consent,and these patients should attempt to achieve pregnancy as soon as possible after the surgery.