[Malignant ovarian mixed germ cell tumor: a rare case]

ABSTRACT

Mixed germ cell tumors of the ovary, uncommon but aggressive tumors are seen most often in young women or adolescent girls, and are generally curable if found and treated early. Use of chemotherapy after initial surgery has dramatically improved the prognosis for many females with these tumors. This study reports a case of successful pregnancy in a patient with malignant ovarian mixed germ cell tumor. The patient was an 18-year old nulliparous woman who had pelvic pain, menstruation delay, right Adnex mass and positive B-HCG. She was found to have a malignant mixed germ cell tumor comprising of both embryonal carcinoma and immature teratoma. Treatment consisted of salpingo-oophorectomy with adjunctive chemotherapy. In view of malignant germ cell tumors occurring almost exclusively in young females, preservation of their ovarian function and fertility was an important issue. The present study, confirmed that normal gonadal function and fertility are possible after conservative surgery for ovarian germ cell malignancies, even with adjuvant chemotherapy