Germ cell tumours

Germ cell tumours of the ovary make up 3% of malignant ovarian tumours, so they are rare, just one-tenth as common as germ cell tumours of the testis. Hence advances in treatment have largely developed through treatment of the testicular tumours which are of the same origin – from the germ cells of the ovary – in other words the cells that ultimately become eggs.

Germ cell tumours themselves are divided according to their main cell type; they range from embryonal carcinoma at the most undifferentiated end of the spectrum (in other words very immature cells) via immature teratoma through to mature teratoma. The most common type is a dysgerminoma, accounting for 30-40%. A detailed discussion is not realistic within this space but if you have a germ cell tumour of the ovary then you should be managed within a specialist unit with particular experience. They tend to occur in young women (the majority between 10 and 30 years) and adolescents and if managed correctly usually have a good prognosis

The rare forms include:

• Dysgerminoma
• Endodermal sinus tumours
• Teratoma, immature, mature or mixed
• Embryonal carcinoma
• Choriocarcinoma
• Sex-cord stromal tumours (5-8%)
• Granulosa cell tumours
• Sertoli-Leydig tumours
• Sarcomas

Information is reproduced with kind permission from Ovacome:

http://www.ovacome.org.uk/about-ovarian-cancer/types-of-ovarian-cancer.aspx