Clearwater woman battles extraordinarily rare ovarian cancer linked to brain tumor tissue

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ainsley Cole, a Dunedin High School graduate and University of South Florida psychology student, is battling an exceptionally rare form of cancer doctors say they may only encounter once in a career.

Cole was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her ovaries that was later identified as an ependymoma, a type of brain tumor. While ependymomas account for about 2% of all brain tumors, their appearance in the ovaries is extraordinarily uncommon.

Timeline

• 2023: Cole underwent bariatric surgery.
• Mid-2024: Family members noticed a growing lump in her abdomen.
• September 2024: She was hospitalized after the mass became painful.
• Late 2024: Doctors confirmed the tumor was malignant and transferred her care to Moffitt Cancer Center.
• Present: Cole is in a maintenance phase

Dig deeper:

After further evaluation at Moffitt Cancer Center, Dr. Robert Wenham, chair of the Department of Gynecological Oncology, identified the tumor as an ependymoma, something typically found in the brain, not the ovaries.

Doctors believe the tumor likely developed within a teratoma, a usually benign ovarian tumor that can contain multiple tissue types, including, in rare cases, neurological tissue. "This is the kind of case that someone only sees maybe once in their career," Wenham said.

Worldwide, only a few dozen cases of ovarian ependymomas have been documented.

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Treatment and recovery

Surgeons removed most of the tumor, including Cole’s ovary, followed by an aggressive chemotherapy regimen and hormonal deprivation therapy. She is now in what doctors call the maintenance phase of treatment.

Cole says the most difficult part of her diagnosis was telling her family, not knowing what the future would hold.

Despite the challenges, she credits her faith and support system for helping her through the past year and a half. "Just find the joy in each situation," Cole said. "No matter how hard the situation is, there always is some joy in that."

Why you should care:

Doctors say cases like Cole’s help expand medical understanding of how rare cancers can develop and underscore the importance of specialized, multidisciplinary care when diagnoses don’t fit typical patterns.