title: Ovarian germ cell tumors.
abstract: Ovarian germ cell tumors (OGCT) are a special type of ovarian cancers due to their histology, age of presentation, prognosis and treatment.
  
  
  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%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conservative surgery followed by a BEP regimen may be performed nowadays with efficacy and acceptable toxicity while conserving the fertility of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Ginecología, Hospital Materno-Infantil de la Vall d'Hebrón, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Cusidó
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jordá
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xercavins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000876:Anthramycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D018237:Germinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000876:Anthramycin; D001761:Bleomycin; D005047:Etoposide; D002945:Cisplatin