title: Primary mixed germ cell tumor of the liver with sarcomatous components.
abstract: Germ cell tumor (GCT) of the liver is extremely rare. Here, we describe a case of hepatic mixed GCT with significant sarcomatous components and elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in a 34-year-old man. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of two GCTs components: yolk sac tumor and immature teratoma. The predominant components of immature teratoma consisted of several types of tissue that represented different germinal layers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm) and showed varying degrees of differentiation with significant sarcomatous components. The yolk sac component showed positivity for AFP and cytokeratin (AE1/AE3). The immature teratoma components showed positivity for varying differentiation markers. Interphase cytogenetic analysis revealed that the yolk sac tumor and immature teratoma were positive for i(12p) and 12p over-representation. In particular, the rhabdomyoblastic components also showed typical i(12p) and 12p overrepresentation. This suggested that sarcomatous components may be associated with dedifferentiation or malignant transformation of certain mesenchymal components within teratoma.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Intervention Radiotherapy, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 225 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200438, China. xuarmy@163.com
authors.forename: Ai-Min
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shao-Juan
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Wei-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chun-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Jun-Jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Meng-Chao
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D013724:Teratoma / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins