Clear-cell carcinoma of the ovary in a 19-year-old woman.

The risk of inadvertently treating an ovarian malignancy is always present regardless of the patient's age, clinical history, ultrasound features, serum tumour markers, menopausal status and intraoperative findings. This risk can be minimized by paying particular attention to high-risk characteristics in any of the above assessment criteria and by obtaining an intraoperative frozen section if there is any suspicion of malignancy. The same approach should be used whether the initial treatment is by laparotomy or laparoscopy. We present a case of clear-cell carcinoma of the ovary in a 19-year-old woman where there was delay in diagnosis and treatment as a result of an incorrect initial histopathology assessment. This appears to be the youngest patient reported in the literature with a clear-cell carcinoma of the ovary.