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Embryonal Carcinoma, Mediastinal

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  • First Online:
Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 46 Accesses

Synonyms

Embryonal carcinoma

Definition

Malignant germ cell tumor composed of primitive appearing markedly atypical epithelial tumor cells.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Rare. Pure embryonal carcinoma constitutes approximately 7% of malignant germ cell tumors of the mediastinum and may be seen as a component in mixed malignant germ cell tumors. If teratoma is also considered, the incidence of embryonal carcinoma is around 1.9% of all germ cell tumors.

  • Age

    Mean age at presentation: 30–40 years.

  • Sex

    Almost exclusive male predominance.

  • Site

    Anterior mediastinum in association with thymus putatively from extragonadal germ cells or thymic cells with germ cell potential. Its primary nature in the mediastinum was confirmed by Cox in post-mortem examination testis in men with primary mediastinal germ cell tumors which failed to reveal testicular neoplastic pathology. However, in a patient presenting with embryonal carcinoma diagnosed as mediastinal mass, a thorough work up should be done to...

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References and Further Reading

  • Cox, J. D. (1975). Primary malignant germinal tumors of the mediastinum. A study of 24 cases. Cancer, 36(3), 1162–1168.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp, R. H., Hurt, R. D., Payne, W. S., et al. (1985). Malignant germ cell tumors of the mediastinum. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 89(1), 82–89.

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  • Moran, C. A., & Suster, S. (1997). Primary germ cell tumors of the mediastinum: I. Analysis of 322 cases with special emphasis on teratomatous lesions and a proposal for histopathologic classification and clinical staging. Cancer, 80(4), 681–690.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, C. A., Suster, S., & Koss, M. N. (1997). Primary germ cell tumors of the mediastinum: III. Yolk sac tumor, embryonal carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, and combined nonteratomatous germ cell tumors of the mediastinum – A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 64 cases. Cancer, 80(4), 699–707.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weidner, N. (1999). Germ-cell tumors of the mediastinum. Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology, 16(1), 42–50.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pathology and Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1400 NW 12th Avenue, Room 4059, 33136, Miami, FL, USA

    Oleksandr N. Kryvenko

  2. Department of Pathology and LaboratoryMedicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Merce Jorda

  3. Department of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Merce Jorda

Authors
  1. Oleksandr N. Kryvenko
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  2. Merce Jorda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oleksandr N. Kryvenko .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of Mississippi Medical School, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Timothy Craig Allen

  2. Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Saul Suster

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

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Cite this entry

Kryvenko, O.N., Jorda, M. (2018). Embryonal Carcinoma, Mediastinal. In: Allen, T.C., Suster, S. (eds) Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66795-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66796-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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