Stromal tumors do not usually spread, in which case the prognosis is good. If they spread, however, they can be more difficult to treat. By the time symptoms appear, the ovarian tumor may have grown large enough to shed cancer cells throughout the abdomen. At such an advanced stage, the cancer is more difficult to cure. Ovarian cancer cells that have spread outside the ovaries are referred to as metastatic ovarian cancers.
Cancer cells can also spread to other organs through lymph channels and the bloodstream.
Not all ovarian tumors are malignant. Benign cysts, dermoid tumors, and borderline malignant tumors all are distinct from ovarian cancer. If the egg is not expelled, associated fluids and other substances can build up inside the follicle, forming a follicular cyst. Corpus Luteum Cysts. Both follicular cysts and corpus luteum cysts are normal parts of the menstrual cycle and nearly always resolve within one or two cycles without treatment.