Steroid Cell Tumors: Rare Ovarian Tumors That Cause Hyperandrogenemia in Postmenopausal Women

The document discusses the difficulty in diagnosing hyperandrogenemia in postmenopausal women, which can be caused by rare ovarian steroid cell tumors, accounting for about 0.1% of all ovarian tumors. The study presents three cases of postmenopausal women with hyperandrogenemia, where only one patient exhibited virilization symptoms while the others were asymptomatic. All patients underwent a total hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy, with histological results revealing one case of Leydig cell tumor and two cases of benign non-specific steroid cell tumor. Post-surgery, all patients' androgen levels normalized, and no clinical recurrence was observed during follow-up. The study concludes that while virilization is an important clinical feature of ovarian steroid cell tumors, asymptomatic cases also occur. Typical imaging features include a solid, slightly hypoechoic, round or oval mass with uniform internal echo, richer blood flow in the solid part, and a low resistance index. Surgery is effective for both diagnosis and treatment of ovarian steroid cell tumors after menopause.