Krukenberg Tumor: A Review of Prognostic Factors and Management

Mayra Vallina Bocanegra¹, Ana Carolina Ortiz Sanchez¹, Julio Alberto Vásquez¹, Natalia Gabriela Sanchez¹, Adrian Murillo Zolezzi^2*
¹Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico;
²Profesor of surgery at Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico

Correspondence to: Adrian Murillo Zolezzi, Profesor of Surgery at Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico; E-mail: dradrianmurillo@ itesm.mx
Received date: September 28, 2020; Accepted date: October 10, 2020; Published date: October 17, 2020
Citation: Bocanegra MV, Ortiz Sanchez AC, Vásquez JA, et al. (2020) Krukenberg Tumor: A Review of Prognostic Factors and Management. Onco Tum Res 1(1): pp. 1-4. doi: 10.52916/otr204003
Copyright: ©2020 Bocanegra MV, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Aim: This review aims to summarize current evidence on Krukenberg Tumors (KT), addressing the main prognostic determinants and its’ management.

Background: Krukenberg Tumors are rare metastatic tumors of the ovary. They were initially described by Friederich Ernst Krukenberg in 1896. They arise from extra-ovarian primary signet-ring cell carcinomas, being the gastrointestinal tract the most common site of origin. The most common clinical presentation of KT is an abdominal mass or discomfort in a premenopausal 40 to the 50-year-old woman. The prognosis is extremely poor compared to primary ovarian cancer.

Results: Overall survival may vary significantly according to the choice and timing of treatment. The effective treatment strategies for KT are still controversial. However, therapeutic options include surgical resection as the mainstay of treatment when possible and the application of different Chemotherapy (CT) regimens. Conclusions: Several factors negatively affect prognosis: an incomplete metastasectomy, extensive disease at diagnosis and the origin of the tumor are the main factors that most authors agree incur in a worse prognosis. KT’s optimal therapeutic strategies are still a matter of debate, raising the need for more studies to achieve consensus.