Tuberc Respir Dis.  1996 Dec;43(6):1008-1018. 10.4046/trd.1996.43.6.1008.

Three cases of primary mediastinal Nonseminomatous germ cell tumors

• Lee SI
• Yong SJ
• M.D.
• Song KS
• Shin KC
• Yang KM
• Cho MY
• Lim HR
• Yoo KH
• Cho HS
• Yoo JK
• Song JO

• KMID: 2044766
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1996.43.6.1008

Abstract

Primary mediastinal nonseminomatous germ cell tumor is extremely rare. Apart from rarity and large size, mediastinal germ cell tumors show striking similarity to testicular tumors in age, incidence, and tumor type. The symptoms associated with these tumors are related mainly to size, invasion of neighboring structures, and distant metastases. Tissue diagnosis is obtained by biopsy of the primary lesion or by biopsy of metastatic sites. Tumors often present with advanced bulky disease, which are unresectable. So these tumors require an aggressive multidisciplinary approach to management. Optimal management includes aggressive surgical debulking and early use of cisplatin-bleomycin-based combination chemotherapy. Serial biomarker measurements permit early recognition of recurrence and improved timing of surgical intervention. The prognosis for mediastinal germ cell tumors is poor, not only because they are far advanced at the time of diagnosis but also because some of the tumors-such as embryonal carcinomas, choriocarcinomas, and endodermal sinus tumors-are very aggressive. In these cases, we present three young male patients with large mass on anterior mediastinum. Tissue diagnosis was obtained by primary lesion biopsy. All patients received surgical debulking and combination chemotherapy and experienced a brief response and eventually had relapses. We report these cases with a review of literatures.

Keyword

mediastinum; germ cell tumor; embryonal carcinoma; endodermal sinus tumor

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Carcinoma, Embryonal
Choriocarcinoma
Diagnosis
Drug Therapy, Combination
Endoderm
Endodermal Sinus Tumor
Female
Germ Cells*
Humans
Incidence
Male
Mediastinum
Neoplasm Metastasis
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal*
Pregnancy
Prognosis
Recurrence
Strikes, Employee
Testicular Neoplasms