title: Growing Teratoma syndrome treated by interferon alpha-2beta: case report and literature review.
abstract: A 14-year old girl was diagnosed as suffering from an immature teratoma. As removal of the teratoma was technically unfeasible, the patient was started on interferon alpha2beta, 3 MU/day, 5 days per week. On this therapy, the growth of the teratoma was stopped and the patient has been well for the past 50 months. She continues to be treated with interferon alpha2beta, with almost no side effects and no restrictions of her everyday activities, with a good quality of life. She is able to attend school regularly, travels abroad frequently, and participates fully in everyday activities normal for her age and social conditions. Her Karnofsky performance status is 100. This case demonstrates the efficacy of interferon alpha2beta therapy in certain instances of growing teratoma syndrome, even when the tumorous mass is initially quite large.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, Rambam Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Postovsky
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epelbaum
authors.forename: Ofer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ben Itzhak
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Myriam Weyl
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ben Arush
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013724:Teratoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins