Risk of malignancy index in the preoperative evaluation of patients with ovarian masses

Objective: To evaluate the ability of RMI in preoperative discrimination of benign from malignant ovarian mass among women presenting at Nishtar Hospital Multan Pakistan. Methodology: It was a prospective study conducted at department of obstetrics/gynae Nishtar Hospital Multan between September 2008 to August 2009. 60 patients of more than 30 years of age admitted in gynaecology department for surgical exploration of ovarian mass were included. All the women in whom ovarian malignancy had already been diagnosed and admitted for second laparotomy were excluded. Results: The median age at presentation of ovarian malignancy is 56 years. The sensitivity of RMI in our group was 82.3%,the specificity was 88.3%, positive predictive value was 73.7% and the negative predictive value was 92.6%. Receiver operating curves reveal that RMI was a better diagnostic marker than CA-125 or ultrasound score alone for the prediction of malignancy in ovarian masses. Conclusion: The risk of malignancy index has high specificity and sensitivity. It yielded a better diagnostic performance as compared to CA-125 or ultrasound score alone in differentiating benign from malignant ovarian lesions. (author)