Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
For malignant teratomas, usually, surgery is followed by chemotherapy.
Teratomas that are in surgically inaccessible locations, or are very complex, or are likely to be malignant (due to late discovery and/or treatment) sometimes are treated first with chemotherapy.
The treatment of choice is complete surgical removal ("i.e.," complete resection). Teratomas are normally well-encapsulated and non-invasive of surrounding tissues, hence they are relatively easy to resect from surrounding tissues. Exceptions include teratomas in the brain, and very large, complex teratomas that have pushed into and become interlaced with adjacent muscles and other structures.
Prevention of recurrence does not require "en bloc" resection of surrounding tissues.
Most treatments involve some combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Treatment with cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin has been described.
Before modern chemotherapy, this type of neoplasm was highly lethal, but the prognosis has significantly improved since.
When endodermal sinus tumors are treated promptly with surgery and chemotherapy, fatal outcomes are exceedingly rare.
SCTs are very rare in adults, and as a rule these tumors are benign and have extremely low potential for malignancy. This estimation of potential is based on the idea that because the tumor existed for decades prior to diagnosis, without becoming malignant, it has little or no potential to ever become malignant. For this reason, and because coccygectomy in adults has greater risks than in babies, some surgeons prefer not to remove the coccyx of adult survivors of SCT. There are case reports of good outcomes.
An immature teratoma is a rare type of malignant (cancerous) germ cell tumor (type of tumor that begins in the cells that give rise to sperm or eggs).
Like a mature teratoma, it contains several different types of tissue such as hair, muscle, and bone. Unlike a mature teratoma, it contains primitive neuroepithelium.
Management of most fetal SCTs involves watchful waiting prior to any treatment. An often used decision tree is as follows:
- Perform detailed ultrasound exam including fetal echocardiogram and Doppler flow analysis
- If fetal high output failure, placentomegaly, or hydrops
- If fetus not mature, perform pregnancy termination or fetal intervention
- Else fetus mature, perform emergency Cesarean section
- Else no emergent problems, perform serial non-stress tests and ultrasound biophysical profiles and plan delivery, as follows
- If emergent problems develop, return to top of decision tree
- Else if SCT over 5–10 cm or polyhydramnios, perform early (37 weeks gestation) elective Cesarean section
- Else SCT small and no complications, permit term spontaneous vaginal delivery
Emergent problems include maternal mirror syndrome, polyhydramnios, and preterm labor. Poor management decisions, including interventions that are either premature or delayed, can have dire consequences. A very small retrospective study of 9 babies with SCTs greater than 10 cm diameter reported slightly higher survivorship in babies remaining in utero slightly longer.
In many cases, a fetus with a small SCT (under 5 or 10 cm) may be delivered vaginally. Prior to the advent of prenatal detection and hence scheduled C-section, 90% of babies diagnosed with SCT were born full term.
Polyembryoma is a rare, very aggressive form of germ cell tumor usually found in the ovaries. Polyembryoma has features of both yolk sac tumour and undifferentiated teratoma/embryonal carcinoma, with a characteristic finding of embryoid bodies lying in a loose mesenchymal stroma.
It has been found in association with Klinefelter syndrome.
Fibrosarcoma occurs most frequently in the mouth in dogs . The tumor is locally invasive, and often recurs following surgery . Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also used in treatment. Fibrosarcoma is also a rare bone tumor in dogs.
In cats, fibrosarcoma occurs on the skin. It is also the most common vaccine-associated sarcoma. In 2014, Merial launched Oncept IL-2 in Europe for the management of such feline fibrosarcomas.
Endodermal sinus tumor (EST), also known as yolk sac tumor (YST), is a member of the germ cell tumor group of cancers. It is the most common testicular tumor in children under 3, and is also known as infantile embryonal carcinoma. 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.
Women with benign germ cell tumors such as mature teratomas (dermoid cysts) are cured by ovarian cystectomy or oophorectomy. In general, all patients with malignant germ cell tumors will have the same staging surgery that is done for epithelial ovarian cancer. If the patient is in her reproductive years, an alternative is unilateral salpingoophorectomy, while the uterus, the ovary, and the fallopian tube on the opposite side can be left behind. This isn't an option when the cancer is in both ovaries. If the patient has finished having children, the surgery involves complete staging including salpingoophorectomy on both sides as well as hysterectomy.
Most patients with germ cell cancer will need to be treated with combination chemotherapy for at least 3 cycles. The chemotherapy regimen most commonly used in germ cell tumors is called PEB (or BEP), and consists of bleomycin, etoposide, a platinum-based antineoplastic (cisplatin).
GCNIS is generally treated by radiation therapy and/or orchiectomy. Chemotherapy used for metastatic germ cell tumours may also eradicate GCNIS.
The 1997 International Germ Cell Consensus Classification is a tool for estimating the risk of relapse after treatment of malignant germ cell tumor.
A small study of ovarian tumors in girls reports a correlation between cystic and benign tumors and, conversely, solid and malignant tumors. Because the cystic extent of a tumor can be estimated by ultrasound, MRI, or CT scan before surgery, this permits selection of the most appropriate surgical plan to minimize risk of spillage of a malignant tumor.
Access to appropriate treatment has a large effect on outcome. A 1993 study of outcomes in Scotland found that for 454 men with non-seminomatous (non-germinomatous) germ cell tumors diagnosed between 1975 and 1989, 5-year survival increased over time and with earlier diagnosis. Adjusting for these and other factors, survival was 60% higher for men treated in a cancer unit that treated the majority of these men, even though the unit treated more men with the worst prognosis.
Choriocarcinoma of the testicles has the worst prognosis of all germ cell cancers
A Sertoli cell nodule, also Pick's adenoma, testicular tubular adenoma and tubular adenoma of the testis, is a benign proliferation of Sertoli cells that arises in association with cryptorchidism (undescended testis). They are not composed of a clonal cell population, i.e. neoplastic; thus, technically, they should not be called an "adenoma".
MEM comprises a heterogeneous group of neoplasms believed to originate from the neural crest. First hints to this type of tumor were probably from Shuangshoti and Nestky (1971) and from Holimon and Rosenblum (1971) (2-3). Additional contributions were provided thereafter by Naka et al. (1975), Karcioglu et al. (1977), Cozzutto et al. (1982) and Kawamoto et al. (1987).
Kosem et al. collected 44 cases of MEM in a 2004 review and examined management data finding out that resection with pre- or post-surgery chemotherapy yielded the best results with one death only in 13. In the five cases reported by Mouton et al. an aggressive chemotherapy and adequate surgical excision granted a disease-free interval for 7 to 50 months. The attainability of radical surgical
ablation seems the most important prognostic factor (10).
Germ cell neoplasia in situ, abbreviated GCNIS, represents the precursor lesion for many types of testicular germ cell tumors. As the name suggests, it represents a neoplastic process of germ cells that is confined to the spermatogonial niche.
The term GCNIS was introduced with the 2016 edition of the WHO classification of urological tumours. It replaces the previous term intratubular germ cell neoplasia, abbreviated ITGCN or IGCN and also known as testicular intratubular germ cell neoplasia and intratubular germ cell neoplasia of the testis. GCNIS more accurate describes the lesion as it arises between the basement membrane and Sertoli cells (the cells that 'nurse' the developing germ cell). The common, unspecified variant of the entity was once considered to be a carcinoma in situ although the term "carcinoma "in situ"" is now largely historical as it is not an accurate description of the process.
Treatment for dermoid cyst is complete surgical removal, preferably in one piece and without any spillage of cyst contents. Marsupialization, a surgical technique often used to treat pilonidal cyst, is inappropriate for dermoid cyst due to the risk of malignancy.
The association of dermoid cysts with pregnancy has been increasingly reported. They usually present the dilemma of weighing the risks of surgery and anesthesia versus the risks of untreated adnexal mass. Most references state that it is more feasible to treat bilateral dermoid cysts of the ovaries discovered during pregnancy if they grow beyond 6 cm in diameter.
Ectomesenchymoma is a rare, fast-growing tumor of the nervous system or soft tissue that occurs mainly in children, although cases have been reported in patients up to age 60. Ectomesenchymomas may form in the head and neck, abdomen, perineum, scrotum, or limbs. Also called malignant ectomesenchymoma.
Malignant ectomesenchymoma (MEM) is a rare tumor of soft tissues or the CNS, which is composed of both neuroectodermal elements [represented by ganglion cells and/or well-differentiated or poorly differentiated neuroblastic cells such as ganglioneuroma, ganglioneuroblastoma, neuroblastoma, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors – PNET] and one or more mesenchymal neoplastic elements, usually rhabdomyosarcoma . The most accepted theory suggests that this tumor arises from remnants of migratory neural crest cells and thus from the ectomesenchyme.
Standard treatment would include surgical exploration via laparotomy. Laparoscopy may be an option if the surgeon is particularly skilled in removing ovarian neoplasms via laparoscopy intact. If the diagnosis of gonadoblastoma is certain, a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) should be performed to remove both the primary tumor and the dysgenic contralateral ovary. If uninvolved, the uterus should be left intact. Modern reproductive endocrinology technology allows patients post BSO to achieve pregnancy via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with a donor egg.
Chondroblastoma has not been known to spontaneously heal and the standard treatment is surgical curettage of the lesion with bone grafting. To prevent recurrence or complications it is important to excise the entire tumor following strict oncologic criteria. However, in skeletally immature patients intraoperative fluoroscopy may be helpful to avoid destruction of the epiphyseal plate. In patients who are near the end of skeletal growth, complete curettage of the growth plate is an option. In addition to curettage, electric or chemical cauterization (via phenol) can be used as well as cryotherapy and wide or marginal resection. Depending on the size of the subsequent defect, autograft or allograft bone grafts are the preferred filling materials. Other options include substituting polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or fat implantation in place of the bone graft. The work of Ramappa "et al" suggests that packing with PMMA may be a more optimal choice because the heat of polymerization of the cement is thought to kill any remaining lesion.
Both radiotherapy and chemotherapy are not commonly used. Radiotherapy has been implemented in chondroblastoma cases that are at increased risk of being more aggressive and are suspected of malignant transformation. Furthermore, radiofrequency ablation has been used, but is typically most successful for small chondroblastoma lesions (approximately 1.5 cm). Treatment with radiofrequency ablation is highly dependent on size and location due to the increased risk of larger, weight-bearing lesions being at an increased risk for articular collapse and recurrence.
Overall, the success and method of treatment is highly dependent upon the location and size of the chondroblastoma.
Fibrosarcoma (fibroblastic sarcoma) is a malignant mesenchymal tumour derived from fibrous connective tissue and characterized by the presence of immature proliferating fibroblasts or undifferentiated anaplastic spindle cells in a storiform pattern. It is usually found in males aged 30 to 40 . It originates in fibrous tissues of the bone and invades long or flat bones such as femur, tibia, and mandible. It also involves periosteum and overlying muscle.
A struma ovarii (literally: goitre of the ovary) is a rare form of monodermal teratoma that contains mostly thyroid tissue, which may cause hyperthyroidism.
Despite its name, struma ovarii is not restricted to the ovary.
The vast majority of struma ovarii are benign tumors; however, malignant tumors of this type is found in a small percentage of cases.
A dermoid cyst is a teratoma of a cystic nature that contains an array of developmentally mature, solid tissues. It frequently consists of skin, hair follicles, and sweat glands, while other commonly found components include clumps of long hair, pockets of sebum, blood, fat, bone, nails, teeth, eyes, cartilage, and thyroid tissue.
As dermoid cysts grow slowly and contain mature tissue, this type of cystic teratoma is nearly always benign. In those rare cases wherein the dermoid cyst is malignant, a squamous cell carcinoma usually develops in adults, while infants and children usually present with an endodermal sinus tumor.
Although not specific to one mode of management, lesion size, patient sex, or follow-up, the recurrence rate for chondroblastoma is relatively high, and has been shown in select studies to be dependent upon the anatomical location, method of treatment, and biological aggressiveness of the initial lesion. The rate of recurrence is highly variable, ranging between 5% and 40%, as study results are generally inconclusive. However, local recurrence for long bone lesions is around 10%, with chondroblastoma in flat bones having higher recurrence and more complications. Recurrences are more common in cases involving an open epiphyseal plate where they can be attributed to inadequate curettage to avoid damage. Lesions of the proximal femur are particularly problematic because of difficulties accessing the femoral head for complete excision. Chondroblastoma may recur in the soft tissue surrounding the initial lesion, especially in the case of incomplete curettage. Recurrences have been shown to occur between 5 months and 7 years after initial treatment and are generally treated with repeat curettage and excision of affected soft-tissue. No histological differences have been seen between recurrent and non-recurrent chondroblastomas.
Rarely, more aggressive chondroblastomas can metastasize. The most common location for metastases is the lung, with some cases also involving secondary bone sites, soft tissue, skin, or the liver. The prevalence of metastatic chondroblastoma, however, is quite low and is believed to be less than 1%. There is no relationship established between metastasis and previous surgery, non-surgical treatment, anatomical location, or patient age. Survival of patients with metastatic lesions is better when the metastases are surgically resectable, as chemotherapy has been shown to have little to no benefit. Prognosis is bleak for patients with malignant chondroblastomas that are resistant to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. However, patients with resectable metastases have survived for several years following diagnosis.
While recurrence is the most common complication of chondroblastoma other issues include post-surgery infection, degenerative joint disease, pathological fractures, failure of bone grafts, pre-mature epiphyseal closure, functional impairment, and malignant transformation. Complications are less common in patients presenting with chondroblastoma in accessible areas. Overall, patients with more classical chondroblastoma (appearing in long bones, typical presentation) have better prognoses than patients with atypical chondroblastoma (flat bones, skull, etc.).
Gonadoblastoma is most often associated with an abnormal chromosomal karyotype, gonadal dysgenesis, or the presence of a Y chromosome in over 90% of cases. Gonadoblastoma has been found in association with androgen insensitivity syndrome, mixed gonadal dysgenesis and Turner syndrome, especially in the presence of Y chromosome-bearing cells.
Ependymomas make up about 5% of adult intracranial gliomas and up to 10% of childhood tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). Their occurrence seems to peak at age 5 years and then again at age 35. They develop from cells that line both the hollow cavities of the brain and the canal containing the spinal cord, but they usually arise from the floor of the fourth ventricle, situated in the lower back portion of the brain, where they may produce headache, nausea and vomiting by obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This obstruction may also cause hydrocephalus. They may also arise in the spinal cord, conus medullaris and supratentorial locations. Other symptoms can include (but are not limited to): loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, temporary inability to distinguish colors, uncontrollable twitching, seeing vertical or horizontal lines when in bright light, and temporary memory loss. It should be remembered that these symptoms also are prevalent in many other illnesses not associated with ependymoma.
About 10% of ependymomas are benign myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE). MPE is a localized and slow-growing low-grade tumor, which originates almost exclusively from the lumbosacral nervous tissue of young patients. On the other hand, it is the most common tumor of the lumbosacral canal comprising about 90% of all tumoral lesions in this region.
Although some ependymomas are of a more anaplastic and malignant type, most of them are not anaplastic. Well-differentiated ependymomas are usually treated with surgery. For other ependymomas, total surgical removal is the preferred treatment in addition to radiation therapy. The malignant (anaplastic) varieties of this tumor, malignant ependymoma and the ependymoblastoma, are treated similarly to medulloblastoma but the prognosis is much less favorable. Malignant ependymomas may be treated with a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Ependymoblastomas, which occur in infants and children younger than 5 years of age, may spread through the cerebrospinal fluid and usually require radiation therapy. The subependymoma, a variant of the ependymoma, is apt to arise in the fourth ventricle but may occur in the septum pellucidum and the cervical spinal cord. It usually affects people over 40 years of age and more often affects men than women.
Extraspinal ependymoma (EEP), also known as extradural ependymoma, may be an unusual form of teratoma or may be confused with a sacrococcygeal teratoma.