Does chocolate cyst go away on its own? Is it cancerous? - Dr. Sunil Eshwar

Chocolate cyst is a condition where there is an accumulation of blood. Basically it is menstrual blood accumulating in the ovary. This causes subfertility or difficulty for conceiving. Many times patient comes and ask if chocolate cyst disappears or it is cancerous. Chocolate cyst does not disappear by themselves as long as the patient is having normal menstrual cycles. After menopause many of these chocolate cysts do regress in size but they do not disappear themselves as long as patient is having a menstrual cycle. They are not but as a differential diagnosis or another diagnosis we do work or do investigations to rule out the chance that this could be a cancerous condition. They do not turn into malignancy. The chance of malignancy is the same as any other chance of malignancy in any other part of the body. Chocolate cyst can sometimes burst if the size is too big or they are growing rapidly, then they are known to burst. If they burst they cause severe pain and the spread of this chocolate cyst throughout the abdominal cavity which can be very painful and a bad effect on fertility of the patient.