On the histogenesis and morphology of ovarian carcinomas

The modern classification of ovarian tumors based on histogenetic principles is clinically important in the evaluation of prognosis and differential therapy. Ninety percent of malignant ovarian tumors belong to the category of “common carcinomas.” All of these tumors originate from the coelomic epithelium at any of various stages of its differentiation into the derivatives of the Mullerian duct, giving rise to a large group of tumors that can be subdivided into serous papillary cystadenocarcinomas arising from surface-like epithelium, mucinous cystadenocarcinomas arising from endocervical-like epithelium, endometrioid carcinomas from endometrium-like epithelium, clear-cell carcinomas from endocervical or endometrium-like epithelium, malignant cystadenofibromas from undetermined pluripotent Mullerian epithelium, and (malignant) Brenner tumors from heterotopic epithelium resebling Wolffian differentiation, as seen in the urothelium.