MATURE AND IMMATURE TERATOMA: RESULTS OF THE FIRST PEDIATRIC ITALIAN STUDY ITALIAN

Abstract Teratoma is the most common germ cell tumour in childhood; mature (MT) and immature teratomas (IT) are benign tumours, but if they recur, they can be in some cases malignant. The aim of this paper is to evaluate Italian patients with MT and IT enrolled from 1991 to 2001, in a prospective multicentric study. One hundred and eighty-three patients, observed in 15 Italian Centers of Paediatric Oncology and three Paediatric Surgical Units were enrolled. Clinical data, treatment and results were all analysed. Initial evaluation and subsequent follow up included clinical examination, tumour markers and imaging procedures. Surgical resection was recommended for all the tumours. Histology w…