Radiation Oncology/Germ cell
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Germ Cell Tumors
Overview edit
- Germ cells originate in the yolk sac endoderm
- During embryonal development, they migrate around the hindgut to the urogenital ridge
- Germ cell tumors arise either after normal migration (in testes or ovaries) or after abnormal migration in midline structures (e.g. CNS, mediastinum, retroperitoneum)
- Degree of differentiation determines the histologic type
- Suppressed differentiation: Germinoma (germinoma/seminoma/dysgerminoma)
- Differentiation: Non-Germinomatous Germ Cell Tumors (NGGCT/NSGCT/Nondysgerminoma)
- Embryonic differentiation:
- Embryonal Carcinoma
- Teratoma: Mature or Immature
- Extra-embryonic differentiation
- Choriocarcinoma
- Yolk Sac Tumor (Endodermal Sinus Tumor)
- Mixed Germ Cell tumors
- Embryonic differentiation:
- Germ cell tumors have the same morphologic and histologic appearance regardless of whether they originate in the gonads or in extra-gonadal sites
- Serum half-life:
- bHCG: 1-1.5 days
- AFP: 5-7 days
Chapters edit
- Testicular Germ Cell Tumors
- Ovarian GCTs
- Dysgerminoma
- Nondysgerminomas
- CNS Germ Cell Tumors
- CNS Germinoma
- CNS Nongerminomatous Germ Cell Tumors
- Sacrococcygeal Germ Cell Tumors
- Mediastinum
- See: Extragonadal germ cell tumors
- Seminomas
- Non-Seminomatous Germ Cell Tumors