dermoid cyst

[heatherm]

I'm having laparoscopic surgery Friday for ovarian cysts. CA-125 is normal, though I understand that is not conclusive. Sonography report said one on left is solid in nature, could be "dermoid." I've tried to do some internet research on the chances of a dermoid cyst being cancerous, and one site said only 2% are. Other site said they are not cancerous. Does anyone have any experience with these?

[Janie Mack]

I had a large ovarian cyst removed last spring that turned out to be a dermoid cyst and what you have heard is true, they are very rarely cancerous.  The CA125 is a good test to have to indicate trends...if you had another test done and saw a significant increase, this would be worrying. in general though, if yours is in the normal range, that's a good sign.

Good luck!

[MickeyVicki]

I discussed dermoid cysts with my doctor prior to surgery because she felt that my cyst would be found to be either a dermoid or an endometrioma.  She gave the same statistics that you gave, and my own research on the internet found the same thing - that dermoids are very rarely malignant.  Perhaps only 1 to 2 percent of them are malignant.