Tailored therapy and long-term surveillance of malignant germ cell tumors in the female genital system: 10-year experience

Vaginal tumours in childhood: a descriptive analysis from a large paediatric medical centre

PURPOSE

Malignant tumours of the vagina are very rare in children. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyse the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of vaginal tumours in children treated in a single institution.

METHODS

This study retrospectively analysed the clinical data of children diagnosed with vaginal malignant tumours who were admitted to the Beijing Children's Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2007 to December 2020 and followed these patients to observe their prognoses and outcomes.

RESULTS

During 13 years, a total of 33 children were included in this study, including 13 children with rhabdomyosarcoma and 20 children with endodermal sinus tumours. The average age at diagnosis was 20.4 months. The main clinical manifestations were vaginal bleeding and protruding masses. Of the 13 children with vaginal rhabdomyosarcoma, 12 were treated with multidrug chemotherapy combined with conservative tumour resection, and their tumours completely resolved; only one child underwent vaginectomy and hysterectomy. Twenty children with vaginal endodermal sinus received PEB chemotherapy. Among these patients, the tumour disappeared after chemotherapy in 12 children, and the remaining nodular tumour foci in 8 children were confirmed to be necrotic tissue by pathology.

CONCLUSION

Our research confirms that chemotherapy combined with conservative surgical treatment is effective for treating children with vaginal malignancies.

Yolk sac tumor of the uterus in a 2-year-old girl: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Extragonadal yolk sac tumors (YSTs) occurring in the uterus are extremely rare. To report a uterine YST case in a prepubertal girl and review literature on uterine YST to outline clinical management in diagnosis and treatment.

CASE

We present a case of a 2-year-old girl who presented with vaginal bleeding and a pelvic mass. The diagnosis of YST was confirmed via biopsy. After four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (PEB), vaginoscopic examination and laparoscopy revealed a uterine YST without metastasis. The patient was treated with laparoscopic hysterectomy and two cycles of PEB postoperatively. During the 18 months of follow-up, the patient remained disease-free.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Primary uterine YST is extremely rare and no treatment guidelines have been established to date. Surgery combined with PEB chemotherapy is considered effective for uterine YST.

Tumoral and pseusotumoral processes of the vagina in the pediatric population: A 26-YEAR retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Vaginal lesions are rare and of various types in children. Clinical presentation is generally undifferenciated. Histological examination is fundamental to ascertain the nature of the lesion. Regarding tumoral lesions, histological subtypes encountered are radically different from those seen in adults, dominated by stromal benign lesions.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this retrospective study was to describe characteristics and pathological aspects of pediatric vaginal lesions, diagnosed in a single pediatric experienced center.

STUDY DESIGN

A database analysis was performed on all vaginal samples of patients under 18 years old received in a pediatric-specialized pathology laboratory of an academic hospital, over a 26-year period.

RESULTS

Among 36 vaginal tissue samples reported, a total of 15 tumoral or pseudotumoral processes was recorded. Primitive malignant tumors included embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 3) and germ-cell tumors, yolk-sac type (n = 2). Benign tumoral or pseudotumoral processes included inflammatory stromal polyps (n = 8), epidermic cyst (n = 1), and benign Müllerian papilloma (n = 1).

DISCUSSION

Over 15 primitive vaginal tumors, 1/3 was malignant with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma being the most common. The remaining 2/3 specimens were benign, with stromal inflammatory lesions being the most commonly observed. Fibro-epithelial polyp is a debated entity, which covers a wide histological spectrum, with varying inflammation and stromal cellularity, raising sometimes the question of the differential diagnosis with rhabdomyosarcoma. Stromal cells morphology along with their immunohistochemical profile suggest their reactive myofibroblastic nature. Pseudotumoral inflammatory lesions display very similar histological findings with these entities. A common pathogenesis beginning with an inflammatory process, potentially accelerated by chronic traumatic factors, could be discussed.

CONCLUSION

We confirmed the rarity and the diversity of vaginal lesions in children. Vaginoscopy and biopsy sample should be systematic, given the non-specific presentation of tumoral processes. Myogenin immunostain must be systematic in case of vaginal polypoid mass, in order to rule out malignancy.

Postchemotherapy sarcoma as a somatic-type malignancy derived from the gonadal yolk sac tumor in a patient with 46, XY pure gonadal dysgenesis

46, XY pure gonadal dysgenesis (PGD) is characterized as a female phenotype with strip-like gonads, which has a high tendency to develop into gonadal tumors. Somatic-type malignancies of germ cell tumors (SMs of GCTs) refer to the presence of malignant non-germ cell histologies admixed with GCTs, which are usually chemoresistant and indicate poor prognosis. This case report aimed to analyze the special histological type of GCTs and the importance of salvage surgery in the treatment of refractory GCTs. We report a unique case of gonadal yolk sac tumor (YST) transformed into SMs in a patient with 46, XY PGD. This 18-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic pelvic tumor resection, considered her first surgery, 2 years ago, and pathology revealed YST with initial alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level measuring >3,000 ng/mL. She underwent seven cycles of chemotherapy, and the AFP level decreased to within a normal range after the second cycle. However, a computed tomography scan after the seventh cycle revealed abdominal and pelvic metastases, and vaginal bleeding was continuously observed. Laparoscopic exploration and laparotomy with tumor subtotal resection were performed. A pathology report showed SMs (sarcoma) derived from YST. Whole exome sequencing demonstrated that the main somatic mutation was a non-synonymous mutation of KRAS (c.182A>G), and this result did not show any indications for targeted drugs. She received three cycles of PEI (cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide) chemotherapy but showed no response. She refused to undergo further treatment and has been alive with the disease for 7 months. This suggests that SMs may be one of the reasons for chemoresistance of refractory GCTs, and salvage surgery may be one of the most effective treatments for this patient. Targeted therapy may be a new choice for chemoresistant GCTs, but drug selection must be based on gene sequencing, and its efficacy still needs to be verified by further study.

Malignant mixed ovarian germ cell tumor composed of immature teratoma, yolk sac tumor and embryonal carcinoma harboring an EGFR mutation: a case report

Malignant mixed ovarian germ cell tumors are very rare, accounting for ~5.3% of all malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCTs), with a very high degree of malignancy. The treatment of patients with persistent, refractory, or platinum-resistant MOGCT is not well defined. The objective of this case report was to analyze the importance of chemotherapy, salvage surgery and target therapy in the treatment of a patient with refractory OGCT after first-line chemotherapy failure. We reported a 34 year-old woman suffered from advanced refractory MOGCT after first-line chemotherapy, cytoreductive surgery, and a series of chemotherapy. The genetic test shows she is a carrier of EGFR: p.L858R mutation. Based on genetic testing result, she received icotinib which targeted for EGFR mutation, but the tumor progressed. After a secondary cytoreductive surgery, she exhibited a partial response and continued to receive chemotherapy. This suggests that salvage surgery may be considered for patients with persistent or refractory MOGCTs when no effective systemic treatment option is available. Targeted therapies based on gene sequencing may provide a new option; however, its efficacy and related resistance mechanisms still need to be verified by further study.