Ovarian germ cell tumors.

UNLABELLED: Ovarian germ cell tumors (OGCT) are a special type of ovarian cancers due to their histology, age of presentation, prognosis and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighteen cases of OGCT out of 313 total ovarian cancer diagnosed in Hospital Materno-Infantil Vall d'Hebredn between 1975 and 1994 are present. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 36 years. The most frequent symptom at diagnosis was abdominal bloating (44.5%). Echography was the most used diagnostic method (67%). Surgery was conservative in 44% of the cases, radical in 50% of the cases and palliative in one case. The histological types were 6 dysgerminomas and 6 malignant teratomas (33.3%), 3 malignant dermoid cysts (16.7%), 2 yolk sac tumors (11%) and 1 embryonal carcinoma. According to FIGO 1987 staging classification 14 patients were in stage I disease and 4 in stage III disease. Polychemotherapy was performed on 6 patients and postsurgical radiotherapy was performed on 2 patients. Five patients recurred in an average time of 25 months. The five-year survival rate, according to the Kaplan-Meier method, was 80% in stage I and 0% in stage III. Five-year survival rate of patients only surgically treated was 65% and in patients who underwent postsurgical co-adjuvant treatment it was 100%. CONCLUSION: Conservative surgery followed by a BEP regimen may be performed nowadays with efficacy and acceptable toxicity while conserving the fertility of these patients.