Volumes of normal ovaries, ovaries with benign lesions, and ovaries with cancer in menopausal women: Is there an optimal cut‐off value to predict malignancy?

Purpose: To evaluate different ovarian volume cut‐off values to distinguish between normal ovaries, benign lesions, and malignant lesions in menopausal women. Methods: Transvaginal sonographic ovarian volume measurements were performed in 362 menopausal patients prior to gynecologic surgery. Based on the histopathologic results, a total of 466 ovaries were divided into 3 groups: normal ovary, benign lesion, and malignant tumor. Different ovarian volume cut‐off values were analyzed via receiver operating characteristic curves to determine the optimal cut‐off value. Results: The mean ovarian volumes in the normal ovary, benign lesion, and malignant tumor groups were 3.4 ± 2.2 cm 3 (range, 0.6–9.6 cm 3 ), 102 ± 308 cm 3 (range, 0.3–3543 cm 3 ), and 368 ± 1176 cm 3 (range, 8.1–9908) cm 3 , respectively. Cut‐off values of 8 cm 3 and 10 cm 3 to distinguish between malignant and nonmalignant lesions had a sensitivity of 100% and 97% and a specificity of 39% and 45%, respectively. Conclusion: In menopausal patients, any ovary with a volume >8 cm 3 can potentially harbor a cancer. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2008