| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 89, 82-89, Copyright © 1985 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
RH Knapp, RD Hurt, WS Payne, GM Farrow, BD Lewis, RG Hahn, JR Muhm and JD Earle
A review of 56 cases of primary malignant germ cell tumors of the
mediastinum revealed that, as with benign teratomas, the tumors occurred in
young adults (mean age 29 years) but that the sex distribution differed
(86% male and 14% female). A single germ cell element was found in 37 (66%)
of the tumors, and various combinations were present in the remaining 19
(34%). The tumors were classified among five recognized types of germ cell
tissues. There were 24 seminomas (22 pure and two with mature teratomas),
17 embryonal carcinomas (nine pure and eight with mixtures), five
teratomas, seven choriocarcinomas (three pure and four with mixtures), and
three pure yolk sac tumors. Most (86%) of the patients were symptomatic at
the initial examination, with chest pain, cough, and loss of weight being
the most frequent presenting symptoms. The standard posteroanterior and
lateral roentgenograms were the most helpful diagnostic tool, showing
evidence of an anterior mediastinal mass in 53 patients. The diagnosis was
established by surgical exploration of the mediastinum or by biopsy of a
lymph node in 55 patients. Of the 55, 24 (43.6%) had complete resection of
the tumor and 31 (56.4%) had incomplete resection or biopsy alone. The
overall prognosis for mediastinal germ cell tumors is poor, partly because
the tumors are far advanced at the time of diagnosis but also because some
of the tumors that contain embryonal cell carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, and
yolk sac elements are very aggressive. Factors that were prognostic in
patients with seminoma-- such as age, presence of the superior vena caval
syndrome, lymphadenopathy, evidence of hilar disease on the chest
roentgenogram, and resectability--were not predictive in patients with
other types of malignant germ cell tumors. Although aggressive combination
chemotherapy may represent a significant treatment modality for
nonseminomatous mediastinal tumors, the present study spanned many years in
which no chemotherapy was available. Patients in the later years of the
study received combination chemotherapy with various treatment regimens. No
conclusions concerning specific chemotherapy, therefore, can be derived
from this study.
ARTICLES
Malignant germ cell tumors of the mediastinum
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. Chen, H. Zheng, and S. Jiang An unusual case of giant mediastinal teratoma with malignant transformation. Ann. Thorac. Surg., July 1, 2008; 86(1): 302 - 304. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. P Shrivastava, S. Devgarha, and V. Ahlawat Mediastinal Tumors: a Clinicopathological Analysis Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann, April 1, 2006; 14(2): 102 - 104. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Sakurai, H. Asamura, K. Suzuki, S.-i. Watanabe, and R. Tsuchiya Management of Primary Malignant Germ Cell Tumor of the Mediastinum Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol., July 1, 2004; 34(7): 386 - 392. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. L. Walsh, G. D. Taylor, J. C. Nesbitt, and R. J. Amato Intensive chemotherapy and radical resections for primary nonseminomatous mediastinal germ cell tumors Ann. Thorac. Surg., February 1, 2000; 69(2): 337 - 343. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| ANN THORAC SURG | ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN | EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG |
| J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG | ICVTS | ALL CTSNet JOURNALS |
