Familial ovarian carcinoma.

Familial aggregation of patients with ovarian carcinoma is unusual. A family with four affected members in three consecutive generations is described. The tumors were all of the serous papillary adenocarcinoma type. The pattern of appearance of the malignant disorder in the present family may be explained as the result of transmission of a dominant mutant autosomal gene. The future long term management of such a family might include prophylactic oophorectomy in certain family members, and possibly selective terminations of pregnancies with female fetuses in high-risk women.