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Immature teratoma is a rare germ cell tumor that affects women under 20. Symptoms include abdominal swelling, pain, and vomiting. Treatment involves surgery and chemotherapy, with a positive outlook in many cases.
An immature teratoma is a rare type of cancer that primarily affects women under the age of 20. It is an example of what is called a germ cell tumor. Germ cell tumors develop from eggs or sperm, and an immature teratoma occurs in egg cells within the ovary. It is different from a mature teratoma, which is a benign or non-cancerous growth found in women of childbearing age. Although an immature teratoma is a malignant tumor, treatment with chemotherapy and surgery can sometimes be successful even after the cancer has spread.
Cancer researchers don’t fully understand the causes of an immature teratoma, but there may be a genetic factor as the tumor is found more frequently in some families. Symptoms of an immature teratoma may include swelling of the abdomen, pain, vomiting, or, with more advanced tumors, a lump that can be felt. The pain can come on suddenly or be present for a longer period of time. Sometimes the tumor can cause the ovary to twist, cutting off the blood supply and this can cause sudden severe pain.
Diagnosis of the tumor can be made using a computed tomography scan, or CT scan, along with blood tests to check for substances known as tumor markers that indicate the possible presence of cancer. An immature teratoma is evaluated in stages based on how far it has spread and classified to describe how aggressive it is. There are three possible grades, with grade one representing a tumor that grows slowly and is less likely to spread and grade three a tumor that grows rapidly in size and is more likely to spread. Cancer stages range from one to four, with stage one assigned to tumors that have not spread at all and stage four to those that have spread throughout the body.
Management of an immature teratoma generally involves surgery to remove the tumor and associated ovary. Since the other ovary can be left in place, this means that many women can still have children after treatment. During the operation, the surgeon is able to inspect the tissue around the teratoma and examine other organs for any signs of the cancer spreading. Samples of tumor tissue can be taken and analyzed to determine the grade of the teratoma. For tumors that have remained within the ovary and are only first-degree, surgery may be the only treatment needed.
When a cancer has spread outside the ovary, it is not always necessary to remove it all at once as chemotherapy is given to shrink the cancer cells. If a tumor remains after chemotherapy, another operation may be needed to remove it. The outlook for a patient with an immature teratoma depends on the grade of the tumor and the extent of spread, but in many cases it is positive.
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