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Unusual imaging findings associated with abdominal pediatric germ cell tumors

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Abstract

Germ cell tumors of childhood are tumors arising from germline cells in gonadal or extragonadal locations. Extragonadal germ cell tumors are characteristically located in the midline, arising intracranially or in the mediastinum, retroperitoneum, or pelvis. These tumors are generally easily diagnosed due to typical sites of origin, characteristic imaging findings, and laboratory markers. However, germ cell tumors can be associated with unusual clinical syndromes or imaging features that can perplex the radiologist. This review will illustrate atypical imaging/clinical manifestations and complications of abdominal germ cell tumors in childhood. These features include unusual primary tumors such as multifocal primaries; local complications such as ovarian torsion or ruptured dermoid; atypical presentations of metastatic disease associated with burned-out primary tumor, growing teratoma syndrome, and gliomatosis peritonei; endocrine manifestations such as precocious puberty and hyperthyroidism; and antibody mediated paraneoplastic syndrome such as anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor antibody-mediated encephalitis. This review aims to illustrate unusual imaging features associated with the primary tumor, metastatic disease, or distant complications of abdominal germ cell tumors of childhood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, 1405 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Marie-Helene Gagnon, Susan Taylor, Ashishkumar K. Parikh & Geetika Khanna

  2. Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in Saint Louis, 510 S Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Paul-Robert Derenoncourt, Sampanna Rayamahi & Maria R. Ponisio

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  1. Marie-Helene Gagnon
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  2. Paul-Robert Derenoncourt
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  3. Sampanna Rayamahi
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Contributions

G.K. had the initial idea for the pictorial essay. M.H.G primarily did the literature search, wrote the first draft, was primarily responsible for revising subsequent drafts, and formatted figures. P.R.D, S.R., and M.R.P contributed cases/imaging. All authors wrote sections of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. M.H.G submitted the manuscript and subsequent revisions.

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Correspondence to Marie-Helene Gagnon.

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Gagnon, MH., Derenoncourt, PR., Rayamahi, S. et al. Unusual imaging findings associated with abdominal pediatric germ cell tumors. Pediatr Radiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-024-05894-9

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