Spectrum and outcome of prenatally diagnosed fetal tumors.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the spectrum of prenatally diagnosed fetal tumors, and the course and fetal outcome in affected pregnancies.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study in two German tertiary referral centers of 84 fetuses with tumors diagnosed in the prenatal period. The tumors were classified according to their location and histology.


RESULTS
The most common site of origin was the heart (20/84, 23.8%), followed by the face and neck region (19/84, 22.6%) and the abdomen (16/84, 19%). Lymphangiomas (21/84, 25%) and rhabdomyomas (19/84, 22.6%) comprised half of the tumor histology. Less frequently, teratomas (14/84, 16.6%) and hemangiomas (12/84, 14.2%) were seen. Complications included arrhythmia in cases with rhabdomyoma (8/19, 42%) and signs of heart failure in cases with hemangioma (4/12, 33%) and teratoma (4/14, 28.6%). The overall survival rate was 75%. Cases with either a histological diagnosis of teratoma or tumor located in the brain had the worst prognosis.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of sonographic features and their location allows reliable prediction of the histological type in the vast majority of fetal tumors. Malignancy, associated malformations and aneuploidy are observed infrequently. Knowledge of the presence of a fetal tumor facilitates close surveillance by a specialized team, which might lead to early recognition of problems and improve perinatal outcome.
Kamil
D
D
Department of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Tepelmann
J
J
Berg
C
C
Heep
A
A
Axt-Fliedner
R
R
Gembruch
U
U
Geipel
A
A
D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality; D005858:Germany; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012207:Rhabdomyoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate; D013724:Teratoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods