Histological characteristics of adnexal masses in children and adolescents: a literature review

Relevance. Special attention should be paid to the preservation of the reproductive health of children and adolescents due to current demographic situation. To achieve this goal children´s gynecologists should be aware of the frequency of occurrence, special clinical features and histological structure of adnexal masses in children. Objective. To collect, analyze, process and systematize relevant data from actual publications on the theme of histological characteristics of adnexal masses in children. Material and methods. The search was carried out using databases Scopus, PubMed (Web of Science), eLibrary, UpToDate. The following keywords and their combinations were used in the search process: adnexal masses, children, adolescents, histology, tumors. The relevance of the sources was assessed on the basis of abstracts. Results. A large number of publications were found based on the search results, including reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, clinical cases, and original research. The article includes 60 sources. Conclusion. Adnexal masses in children have a number of morphological, functional and clinical differences from those in adult women. Proper awareness of children´s gynecologists about the special clinical features and histological characteristics of ovarian tumors in children and adolescence may help to avoid diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical errors in clinical practice.