New York: It’s better to ignore simple ovarian cysts as researchers have found that such cysts are extremely common in women and do not require additional ultrasound surveillance or surgical removal. Simple cysts are common in both pre- and post-menopausal women, and are not linked to a higher risk of ovarian cancer, showed the findings. As a result, unless they are symptomatic, simple cysts can be safely ignored, the researchers found.
By contrast, complex cysts or solid ovarian masses are far less common, but are associated with a significantly higher risk of developing malignant cancer. These masses need to be followed or surgically removed, said the study. “Our study found that asymptomatic simple cysts of any size should be considered normal findings in women of any age and ignored,” said corresponding author Rebecca Smith-Bindman, Professor University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US.
“There’s a great deal of unnecessary medical surveillance that goes on for simple cysts,” she said. The researchers tracked 72,093 women who underwent pelvic ultrasound between January 1997 and December 2008. Among the 54,452 women under 50, the researchers estimated that approximately 24 per cent (12,957 women) were diagnosed with a simple cyst and none developed cancer during follow-up. —IANS
