Hyperandrogenism produced by ovarian tumors in women at different life stages.

: Objetivo: evaluar las diferentes manifestaciones del hiperandrogenismo tumoral de origen ovarico en distintos grupos etarios. Diseno: reporte de casos.Lugar de trabajo: centros academicos.Pacientes: son reportadas tres pacientes con exceso de androgenos. Resultados: describimos una paciente de 10 anos con hiperandrogenemia y signos de masculinizacion secundarios a un tumor de celulas de Leydig; otra paciente, en edad fertil, con un tumor carcinoide de ovario asociado a hiperplasia estromal que se manifesto con signos de masa abdominal y de virilizacion. El tercer caso una mujer, en etapa postmenopausica con alopecia severa, tenia un tumor de celulas esteroideas, raro en este grupo etario. onclusion: la evaluacion de una mujer con signos y sintomas de virilizacion debe incluir una detallada historia clinica, examen fisico y apropiados dosajes hormonales, especialmente si existe dificultad en establecer su origen cuando los estudios imagenologicos son normales. DESIGN: case report. SETTING: academic institutions. PATIENT(S): 3 patients at different life stages, with increased androgen levels. INTERVENTION(S): review of hospital records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): clinical and biochemical features, treatment and follow-up. RESULT(S): a 10 year-old girl with Leydig cell tumor presented with hyperandrogenemia, virilization and changes in social behavior. Another patient, at reproductive age, with a tumor>10 cm, presented with signs of virilization and abdominal mass, whose pathologic analysis disclosed a carcinoid tumor of the ovary associated with stromal hyperplasia. The third patient was a postmenopausal woman with severe alopecia, who presented a steroid cell tumor, rare at that age. CONCLUSION(S): the evaluation of women with signs and symptoms of virilization should include a detailed clinical record, thorough physical examination and an appropriate hormonal dosage, especially when images are inconclusive.