title: Stage IV malignant intrapericardial germ cell tumor: a case report.
abstract: The mediastinum is a common site for germ cell tumors. We describe an unusual case in an 18-month-old girl who presented with respiratory distress and cardiomegaly. An echocardiogram revealed a large pericardial effusion and a mass adjacent to the heart. She underwent detailed investigation and at open exploration was found to have a wholly intrapericardial malignant yolk sac tumor. Staging investigations revealed a bony metastasis. The serum marker alpha-fetoprotein was elevated. She was treated with chemotherapy and is in remission 1 year after completion of treatment. We review the methods of diagnosis and follow-up of children with these tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, Great Britain.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bath
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walayat
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mankad
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Godman
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000473:pathology*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins