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. 2018 Aug 30;11(1):75.
doi: 10.1186/s13048-018-0448-2.

Ovarian teratoma in children: a plea for collaborative clinical study

Justyna Łuczak  1 , Maciej Bagłaj  2
Affiliations

Ovarian teratoma in children: a plea for collaborative clinical study

Justyna Łuczak et al. J Ovarian Res. .

Abstract

Background: Although teratomas are the most common histologic subtype of childhood ovarian germ cell tumors, their appropriate treatment in this age group still remains unclear. Paucity of research dedicated exclusively to both mature and immature teratomas of the ovary, contribute to decision making difficulties. Therefore, we decided to review retrospectively our experience in treatment of pediatric ovarian teratomas in order to assess the epidemiology, presenting features, and diagnostic as well as surgical management of these lesions.

Results: The study comprised 58 patients. Fifty percent of patients were between 9 and 15 years old. Mature teratoma was diagnosed in 55(94.83%) patients, while 3(5.17%) patients presented with immature teratoma. Twenty eight (50.91%) girls with mature teratoma had laparotomy and 23 (41.82%) had laparoscopy performed as an initial operative approach. Ovarian tissue sparing technique (preservation of the ovarian tissue of the affected gonad) was applied in only 11.11% of patients operated in the first study period (years 1999-2003) and increased to 40.54% in the second half of our study (years 2004-2016). The extent of gonadal resection was not related with the size of the lesion. Bilateral lesions were noted in 8 patients with mature teratoma. All girls with immature teratoma were subjected to formal laparotomy. Two patients had stage III of the disease and one had stage IV. They underwent at least resection of the affected gonad. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given to all girls with immature teratoma after the surgery.

Conclusions: Under particular conditions ovarian-sparing surgery might be successfully applied in children with mature teratoma. Laparotomy is the treatment of choice in large masses, suspicious for malignancy and if surgical staging is required. High quality prospective multi-institutional studies are required in order to get an objective insight into biology and prognostic factors of teratomas in children.

Keywords: Child; Ovarian neoplasms; Ovarian teratoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Medical University of Wroclaw - available on request.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The most common presented symptoms
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patient’s age and size of the lesion
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts