Prevalence of ovarian cancer found at the time of infertility microsurgery.

We found the prevalence of ovarian cancer in infertile women less than 40 years at the time of planned microsurgery for infertility to be 1 in 95. This may represent a greater prevalence of ovarian cancer than that of all women less than 40 years. Importantly, laparoscopy did not find the ovarian cancer in these women. In conclusion, laparoscopists and microsurgeons need to be aware of the possibility of finding ovarian cancer in these young, infertile women, and this knowledge should be used to counsel and manage the patient appropriately.