How does secondary neoplasm arise from mature teratomas in growing teratoma syndrome of the ovary? A report of two cases

An Ultralate Female Growing Teratoma Syndrome: 19 Years after Aggressive Treatment for Advanced Ovarian Immature Teratoma

We report a rare case with the late occurrence of growing teratoma syndrome (GTS). A 24-year-old woman with Grade 3 immature teratoma of ovary underwent complete surgery and chemotherapy. Nineteen years later, she developed hematuria and pelvic mass that was completely resected and pathology revealed mature cystic teratoma. She has regularly followed up with tumor marker and computed tomography every three months. No evidence of disease has been detected throughout 14 years. In addition, we present a brief review of literature of ovarian GTS in the last decade. We have found that advanced stage, high grade, or early recurrence of germ cell tumor (GCT) could be the risk factors of GTS. It tends to appear within 1 year if the patients had the incomplete resection of primary disease. We stress the importance of long-term follow-up after treatment GCT to early recognition and treatment.

Diagnosis and management of growing teratoma syndrome after ovarian immature teratoma: A single center experience

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the diagnostic, surgical, and oncological outcomes of patients with growing teratoma syndrome (GTS).

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with ovarian immature teratoma (IMT) between 1980 and 2018 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) were evaluated for the development of GTS. Their clinical characteristics, surgical and pathological data, and oncological outcomes were collected.

RESULTS

Between 1980 and 2018, 175 cases of IMT were referred to PUMCH. Thirty-five patients subsequently developed GTS with a crude rate of approximately 20%. The median interval between the initial diagnosis of IMT and the first occurrence of GTS was 18.5 months (range, 6-78 months). Residual disease (P < 0.001) and gliomatosis peritonei (GP) at initial surgery (P = 0.023) were independent risk factors for GTS development. Fertility-sparing surgery for GTS was performed in 27 patients and four patients achieved five singleton pregnancies. The median follow-up time was 73 months (range, 11-401 months). Eleven patients developed at least one recurrence. Residual disease after GTS surgery was associated with GTS recurrence (P = 0.001). By the end of follow-up, 27 patients were alive without disease and the other eight patients were alive with disease.

CONCLUSION

The presence of residual disease and GP at initial surgery are risk factors for GTS. Complete surgical resection is the cornerstone for treatment of GTS. The presence of residual disease after surgery for GTS is a risk factor for GTS recurrence. Fertility-sparing surgery should be performed because spontaneous pregnancy is possible. The overall prognosis of GTS is excellent.

Germ Cell Tumors of the Female Genital Tract

Ovarian germ cell tumors are a histologically diverse group of neoplasms with a common origin in the primitive germ cell. The vast majority are represented by mature cystic teratoma. In the minority are malignant germ cell tumors including immature teratoma, dysgerminoma, yolk sac tumor, embryonal cell carcinoma, and choriocarcinoma. This article reviews the histologic and immunohistochemical features of the most common ovarian germ cell tumors. The differential diagnoses for each are discussed.

Growing teratoma syndrome with porta hepatis involvement - a case report

Growing teratoma syndrome is a rare entity of tumors, it arises seldomly from ovarian and testicular carcinoma. It presents with disseminating masses of mature teratoma during or following chemotherapy of malignant germ cell tumors. We are reporting a 19-year old presented with recurrent left ovarian mass and supra renal large mass close to the porta hepatis was seen on magnetic resonance imaging. This patient was treated 3 years ago for stage I immature teratoma with left ovarian cystectomy and chemotherapy. Surgical excision of the left ovary and the abdominal mass required meticulous dissection, and the mass was shaved off the porta hepatis with no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Pathology showed mature teratoma. She has no recurrent 5 years after treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report describing close relation of growing teratoma syndrome to the porta hepatis, no such case report like this has been reported in our region.

How Common Is the Growing Teratoma Syndrome in Patients With Ovarian Immature Teratoma?

OBJECTIVES

Growing teratoma syndrome (GTS) after adjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian germ cell tumors is uncommon, with approximately 60 cases reported in the English literature. The objective of this study was to report clinical parameters including outcomes of patients with a diagnosis of GTS after adjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian immature teratoma (IT).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Patients with a condition diagnosed as ovarian IT between 1999 and 2014 at 2 tertiary-care academic centers were evaluated for the development of GTS. Patients' demographics, surgical and pathology data, adjuvant treatment, tumor markers, and survival data were collected retrospectively.

RESULTS

Twenty-six patients were treated for ovarian IT with a median follow-up of 69 months (9-166 months). Of the 15 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy, 6 developed GTS (crude incidence, 40%; 2- and 5-year cumulative actuarial rates, 40% and 50%, respectively). The median age at diagnosis of ovarian IT was 24 years (17-38 years). The median interval from diagnosis of IT to development of GTS was 20 months (8-42 months). These 6 patients underwent 1 to 4 additional surgeries for management of GTS and were alive without evidence of malignancy after a median follow-up of 90 months (range, 24-166 months).

CONCLUSIONS

The development of GTS after adjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian IT seems to be more common than previously reported in the literature. Clinicians need to be cognizant that the occurrence of rapidly growing masses during or after chemotherapy for ovarian IT raises the possibility of GTS. This highlights the importance of prolonged follow-up with tumor markers and imaging studies in patients with ovarian IT.

Growing Teratoma Syndrome Secondary to Ovarian Giant Immature Teratoma in an Adolescent Girl: A Case Report and Literature Review

Growing teratoma syndrome (GTS) is a rare clinical entity first described by Logothetis et al in 1982. Although it is unusual for GTS to be located in the ovary, this report is of a case of an adolescent girl who underwent a complete surgical resection of the mass. Histopathology confirmed only an immature teratoma had originated from the ovary and so she received adjuvant chemotherapy with blemycin, etopside, and cisplatin over 4 cycles. Results from an abdominal enhanced CT (computed tomography) 9 years later revealed a giant mass had compressed adjacent tissues and organs. Laparotomy was performed and a postoperative histopathology showed the presence of a mature teratoma, and so the diagnosis of ovarian GTS was made. One hundred one cases of ovarian GTS from English literature published between 1977 and 2015 were collected and respectively analyzed in large samples for the first time. The median age of diagnosis with primary immature teratoma was 22 years (range 4-48 years, n = 56). GTS originating from the right ovary accounted for 57% (27/47, n = 47) whereas the left contained 43% (20/47, n = 47). Median primary tumor size was 18.7 cm (range 6-45 cm, n = 28) and median subsequent tumor size was 8.6 cm (range 1-25 cm, n = 25). From the primary treatment to the diagnosis of ovarian GTS, median tumor growth speed was 0.94 cm/month (range 0.3-4.3 cm/month, n = 21). Median time interval was 26.6 months (range 1-264 months, n = 41). According to these findings, 5 patients did have a pregnancy during the time interval between primary disease and GTS, making our patient the first case of having a pregnancy following the diagnosis of ovarian GTS. Because of its high recurrence and insensitiveness to chemotherapy, complete surgical resection is the preferred treatment and fertility-sparing surgery should be considered for women of child-bearing age. Anyhow GTS of the ovary has an excellent prognosis. Patients with GTS had no evidence of recurrence or were found to be disease free during a 40.3-month (range 1-216 months, n = 48) median follow-up. Moreover, regular follow-ups with imaging and serum tumor markers are important and must not be neglected.

Gliomatosis peritonei: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 21 cases

Gliomatosis peritonei, a rare condition often associated with immature ovarian teratoma, is characterized by the presence of mature glial tissue in the peritoneum. We retrospectively evaluated 21 patients with gliomatosis peritonei and studied their clinicopathologic features and immunophenotype. The patients' ages ranged from 5 to 42 years (median, 19 years). Their primary ovarian tumors consisted of immature teratoma (n=14), mixed germ cell tumors (n=6), and mature teratoma with a carcinoid tumor (n=1). Gliomatosis peritonei was diagnosed at the same time as primary ovarian neoplasm in 16 patients and secondary surgery in 5 patients. Also, 11 of 21 patients had metastatic immature teratoma (n=4), metastatic mature teratoma (n=2), or both (n=5). One patient developed glioma arising from gliomatosis peritonei. Seventeen patients had follow-up information and were alive with no evidence of disease (n=13), alive with disease (n=3), or alive with an unknown disease status (n=1). The follow-up durations ranged from 1 to 229 months (mean, 49 months; median, 23 months). Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that SOX2 was expressed in all cases of gliomatosis peritonei and glioma with tissue available (nine of nine cases), whereas OCT4 and NANOG were negative in all cases with available tissue (eight of eight cases). In conclusion, both gliomatosis peritonei and glioma arising from it show a SOX2+/OCT4-/NANOG- immunophenotype. These findings demonstrated that gliomatosis peritonei is associated with favorable prognosis, although it is important to rule out potentially associated immature teratoma and malignant transformation. SOX2 may have an important role in the development of gliomatosis peritonei.

Laparoscopic excisional surgery for growing teratoma syndrome of the ovary: case report and literature review

Growing teratoma syndrome (GTS) is rare clinical phenomenon occurring as a sequelae of a malignant germ cell tumor. We present the case of a 20-year-old woman who developed GTS after undergoing fertility-sparing surgery and chemotherapy for an immature teratoma. She underwent left salpingo-oophorectomy, right ovarian cystectomy, and disseminated tumor reduction during her primary surgery. The postsurgical histology report identified the tumor as an immature teratoma, grade 3, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIb. She subsequently received 3 cycles of chemotherapy consisting of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin. At 17 months after the chemotherapy, follow-up computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an enlarged mass in her right paracolic gutter and a small peritoneal lesion in the pouch of Douglas. Her serum alpha-fetoprotein level was not elevated. These findings were compatible with GTS, but it was difficult to rule out a recurrent immature teratoma. Diagnostic exploratory laparoscopic surgery revealed the enlarged tumors that had been detected by the CT scan. Although there were multiple tumors in the pouch of Douglas, we were able to resect all of them laparoscopically. Histological diagnosis of the surgically resected specimens was of a mature teratoma, and so we concluded that this tumor was a GTS. Our experience suggests that laparoscopic surgery is an effective alternative diagnostic and therapeutic approach in cases suspicious of GTS where the disease is disseminated to the peritoneum.