What is the Difference Between Serous and Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary

The key difference between serous and mucinous cystadenoma of ovary is that serous cystadenoma locules are unilocular, while mucinous cystadenoma locules are multilocular.

Ovarian cystadenomas are benign epithelial neoplasms. They are common and produce excellent prognoses. They are liquid-filled cysts that develop from cells on the surface of the ovary. Even though most cystadenomas are benign, some ovarian cystadenomas are cancerous. The two most frequent types of cystadenomas related to the ovary are serous and mucinous cystadenomas.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Serous Cystadenoma of Ovary
3. What is Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary
4. Similarities –  Serous and Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary
5. Serous vs Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Serous vs Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary

What is Serous Cystadenoma of Ovary?

Serous cystadenoma is a benign, abnormal growth of tissue in the ovary. It is the most common ovarian neoplasm. It is similar to the most common type of ovarian cancer under the microscope. However, it does not share the genetic traits of borderline serous tumours, which show the possibility of transforming into serous carcinomas. The gross structure usually appears as a small, unilocular cyst containing clear, straw-coloured fluid but sometimes appears multilocular. Microscopically, the lining of the cyst shows a simple epithelium with either ciliated columnar cells, resembling normal tubal epithelium, or cuboidal cells without cilia, resembling ovarian surface epithelium.

Serous cystadenomas of the ovary fall into the largest category of benign ovarian tumours, which make up about 50 % to 80 % of epithelial ovarian tumours that are benign. Serous cystadenomas have a 25 % possibility of becoming serous tumours. The prevalence of ovarian serous cystadenomas peaks between the human lifespan of 60-70 years of age. These benign ovarian tumours are diagnosed by histomorphology examinations carried out by pathologists.

What is Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary?

A mucinous cystadenoma of the ovary is a benign tumour lined by mucinous epithelium. They make up about 15 % to 20 % of all ovarian tumours and 80 % of mucinous ovarian tumours. These tumours become very large and extend up to the abdomen. Mucinous cystadenomas are multiloculated cystic neoplasms. They usually have a lining of a single layer of tall columnar epithelial cells with a basal nucleus and cytoplasm.

Mucinous cystadenoma is usually diagnosed through ultrasound, MRI, and CT scans. Such tumours are abnormal masses with thin walls and are multiseptated. They also consist of various solid tissues containing proliferating stromal tissues, papillae, or malignant tumour cells. The prevalence of mucinous cystadenomas peaks between the human lifespan of 30-50 years of age.

What are the Similarities Between Serous and Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary?

• Serous and mucinous cystadenomas of the ovary are cystic adenomas.
• They are benign in nature.
• Both are ovarian neoplasms.
• Serous and mucinous cystadenoma of ovary contains tall columnar epithelial cells.
• Both are diagnosed by scanning technologies.

What is the Difference Between Serous and Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary?

Serous cystadenomas are usually unilocular, while mucinous cystadenomas are usually multilocular. Thus, this is the key difference between serous and mucinous cystadenoma of ovary. Serous cystadenoma is smaller than mucinous cystadenoma, while mucinous cystadenoma is often larger. Moreover, the signal intensity of serous cystadenoma is stable whereas it is variable in mucinous cystadenoma.

The below infographic presents the differences between serous and mucinous cystadenoma in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Serous vs Mucinous Cystadenoma of Ovary

Ovarian cystadenomas are benign epithelial neoplasms that are liquid-filled cysts. The two types of cystadenomas are serous and mucinous cystadenomas in the ovary. Serous cystadenomas are unilocular, while mucinous cystadenomas are multilocular. Serous cystadenoma is the most common ovarian neoplasm. Serous cystadenoma is smaller than mucinous cystadenoma. Serous cystadenoma locules have stable signal intensity, while mucinous cystadenoma locules have variable signal intensity. So, this summarizes the difference between serous and mucinous cystadenoma of ovary.

Reference:

1. “Mucinous Cystadenoma / Adenofibroma.” Pathology Outlines.
2. Niknejad, MT. “Ovarian Serous Cystadenoma: Radiology Reference Article.” Radiopaedia Blog RSS, Radiopaedia.org.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Ovarian serous cystadenoma – alt — low mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Ovarian mucinous cystadenoma – a2 — high mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia