Gynecology General Gynecology

Teratoma Wikipedia

A teratoma is a type of tumor that derives from pluripotent germ cells. The word comes from a Greek language|Greek term meaning roughly "monster tumor". Teratomas (more correctly teratomata) usually start from cells in the testes in men, the ovary|ovaries in women and in the sacrum in children. Teratomata involve cells from all three embryonic cell layers: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. They can be benign or malignant.

Teratomata often contain well-differentiated cells which can result in tissues growing in a teratoma which are quite different from the surrounding tissue—ovarian teratomas have been known to grow hair and teeth. Such a benign cystic teratoma is often termed a dermoid cyst, nowadays more correctly termed a mature teratoma. Some teratomata may contain a mixture of well-differentiated, mature tissues as: respiratory epithelium, hair follicle, fat tissue or mature nervous tissue. Immature teratomata of the ovary have a malignant potential in line with the amount of neuroblastic tissue present.

Testicular teratomata are generally less well-differentiated, and have a worse prognosis (chances of recovery are not as high).

Some teratomata secrete the "pregnancy hormone" human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which can be used in clinical practice to follow-up successful treatment or relapse in patients with a known HCG-secreting teratoma. It is not recommended as a diagnostic marker.

Some teratomata secrete thyroxine, in some cases to such a degree that it can lead to clinical hyperthyroidism in the patient.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19