Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Growing teratoma syndrome of ovary

  • Case Report
  • Published:
International Journal of Clinical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Growing teratoma syndrome is an increase of tumor size containing only a mature teratoma component, during or after chemotherapy for germ cell tumors. Mature teratomatous elements are chemoresistant and have to be resected surgically. We describe three patients with malignant immature teratoma treated with chemotherapy and surgical resection. All three had an increase in the size of the mass after chemotherapy, surgery was possible, and histology revealed mature teratoma. One of the patients showed fluorodeoxy glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) positivity for growing teratoma syndrome, but the histology revealed only mature teratoma. All three patients are alive, at 55, 72, and 103 months’ follow up after the initial diagnosis. Data collected from the literature are reviewed. Early recognition of this syndrome is essential as it offers hope for curative resection and avoids the use of ineffective chemotherapy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Logothetis CJ, Samuels ML, Trindade A, et al. (1982) The growing teratoma syndrome. Cancer 50:1629–1635

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. DiSaia PJ, Saltz A, Kagan AR, et al. (1977) Chemotherapeutic retroconversion of immature teratoma of the ovary. Obstet Gynecol 49:346–350

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Amsalem H, Nadraj M, Prus D, et al. (2004) Growing teratoma syndrome vs chemotherapeutic retroconversion: case report and review of the literature. Gynecol Oncol 92:357–360

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Andre F, Fizazi K, Culine S, et al. (2000) The growing teratoma syndrome: results of therapy and long-term follow-up of 33 patients. Eur J Cancer 36:1389–1394

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jeffery GM, Theaker JM, Lee AH, et al. (1991) The growing teratoma syndrome: Br J Urol 67:195–202

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dixon FJ, Moore FA (1952) Tumors of the male sex organs. In: Atlas of tumor pathology, vol 8. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC, pp 316–332

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hong WK, Wittes RE, Hajdu ST, et al. (1977) The evolution of mature teratoma from malignant testicular tumors. Cancer 40: 2987–2992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Aronowitz J, Estrada R, Lynch R, et al. (1983) Retroconversion of malignant immature teratomas of the ovary after chemotherapy. Gynecol Oncol 16:414–421

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Chantelard J, Chiura E, Cleophax JP (1987) Maturation of immature teratomas of the ovary. Apropos of a case and review of the literature. J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod (Paris) 6:861–867

    Google Scholar 

  10. Moskovic E, Jobling T, Fisher C, et al. (1991) Retroconversion of immature teratoma of the ovary: CT appearances. Clin Radiol 43:402–408

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Jumean HG, Komorowski R, Mahvi D, et al. (1992) Immature teratoma of the ovary-an unusual case. Gynecol Oncol 46:111–114

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kattan J, Droz JP, Culine S, et al. (1993) The growing teratoma syndrome: a woman with nonseminomatous germ cell tumor of the ovary. Gynecol Oncol 49:395–399

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Geisler JP, Goulet R, Foster RS, et al. (1994) Growing teratoma syndrome after chemotherapy for germ cell tumors of the ovary. Obstet Gynecol 84:719–721

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Williams SD, Blessing JA, DiSaia PJ, et al. (1994) Second-look laparotomy in ovarian germ cell tumors: the Gynecologic Oncology Group experience. Gynecol Oncol 52:287–291

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. David YB, Weiss A, Shechtman L, et al. (2002) Tumor chemoconversion following surgery, chemotherapy, and normalization of serum tumor markers in a woman with a mixed type germ cell ovarian tumor. Gynecol Oncol 84:464–467

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Itani Y, Kawa M, Toyoda S, et al. (2002) Growing teratoma syndrome after chemotherapy for a mixed germ cell tumor of the ovary. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 28: 166–171

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Inaoka T, Takahashi K, Yamada T, et al. (2003) The growing teratoma syndrome secondary to immature teratoma of the ovary. Eur Radiol 13:2115–2118

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Nimkin K, Gupta P, McCauley R, et al. (2004) The growing teratoma syndrome. Pediatr Radiol 34:259–262

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Umekawa T, Tabata T, Tanida K, et al. (2005) Growing teratoma syndrome as an unusual cause of gliomatosis peritonei: a case report. Gynecol Oncol 99:761–763

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Wuntkal R, Maheshwari A, Kerkar RA, et al. (2004) Carcinoma of uterine cervix primarily presenting as carcinomatous meningitis: a case report. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 44:268–269

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Dewdney S, Sokoloff M, Yamada SD (2006) Conservative management of chylous ascites after removal of a symptomatic growing retroperitoneal teratoma. Gynecol Oncol 100:608–611

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Tangjitgamol S, Manusirivithaya S, Leelahakorn S, et al. (2006) The growing teratoma syndrome: a case report and a review of the literature. Int J Gynecol Cancer 16:384–390

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. de Wit R, Stoter G, Sleijfer DT, et al. (1995) Four cycles of BEP versus an alternating regime of PVB and BEP in patients with poor-prognosis metastatic testicular non-seminoma; a randomised study of the EORTC Genitourinary Tract Cancer Cooperative Group. Br J Cancer 71:1311–1314

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Ahlgren AD, Simrell CR, Triche TJ, et al. (1984) Sarcoma arising in a residual testicular teratoma after cytoreductive chemotherapy. Cancer 54:2015–2018

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Roopa Hariprasad & Lalit Kumar

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Deepa Janga & Sunesh Kumar

  3. Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Malini Vijayaraghavan

Authors
  1. Roopa Hariprasad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lalit Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Deepa Janga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sunesh Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Malini Vijayaraghavan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lalit Kumar.

About this article

Cite this article

Hariprasad, R., Kumar, L., Janga, D. et al. Growing teratoma syndrome of ovary. Int J Clin Oncol 13, 83–87 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-007-0693-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-007-0693-7

Key words

Search

Navigation