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Germ cell tumor (GCT) is a neoplasm derived from the primordial germ cells. [1] Germ-cell tumors can be cancerous or benign. Germ cells normally occur inside the gonads (ovary [2] and testis). GCTs that originate outside the gonads may be birth defects resulting from errors during development of the embryo.
In the ovary, embryonal carcinoma is quite rare, amounting to approximately three percent of ovarian germ cell tumours. The median age at diagnosis is 15 years. Symptoms and signs are varied, and may include sexual precocity and abnormal (increased, reduced or absent) uterine bleeding. [1]
Choriocarcinoma is a malignant, trophoblastic [1] cancer, usually of the placenta. It is characterized by early hematogenous spread to the lungs. It belongs to the malignant end of the spectrum in gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). It is also classified as a germ cell tumor and may arise in the testis or ovary.
This age group has a very good prognosis. In contrast to the pure form typical of infants, adult endodermal sinus tumors are often found in combination with other kinds of germ cell tumor, particularly teratoma and embryonal carcinoma. While pure teratoma is usually benign, endodermal sinus tumor is malignant.
Relative incidences of testicular tumors, showing seminoma at bottom left. [2] A seminoma is a germ cell tumor of the testicle or, more rarely, the mediastinum or other extra-gonadal locations. It is a malignant neoplasm and is one of the most treatable and curable cancers, with a survival rate above 95% if discovered in early stages. [3]
Dysgerminomas, like other seminomatous germ cell tumors, are very sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For this reason, with treatment patients' chances of long-term survival, even cure, is excellent. [4] Targeted treatments for dysgerminomas that do not respond to chemotherapy are being evaluated. [4]
Unlike benign germ cell tumors of the mediastinum, malignant mediastinal tumors are usually symptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Most mediastinal malignant tumors are large and cause symptoms by compressing or invading adjacent structures, including the lungs, pleura, pericardium, and chest wall.
An extracranial germ cell tumor (EGCT) occurs in the abnormal growth of germ cells in the gonads (testes or ovaries) and the areas other than the brain via tissue, lymphatic system, or circulatory system. The tumor can be benign or malignant (cancerous) by its growth rate.