What is a pituitary germinoma?

What is a pituitary germinoma?

Abstract. Purpose: Intracranial germinomas are exceedingly rare tumors found in the pineal and suprasellar regions. The extremely low incidence of pituitary germinoma has resulted in a significant gap in knowledge regarding its demographics, management, and treatment outcomes.

How is germinoma diagnosed?

Germinomas are potentially malignant in behavior and both infiltrate normal brain tissue as well as spread throughout the CNS. Thus, every patient should have standard staging procedures at diagnosis to include a post-op brain and spine MRI, lumbar CSF cytology and lumbar CSF tumor markers.

Can germinoma come back?

Back ground Intracranial germinomas are one of the most radiosensitive tumors and are curable by radiotherapy (RT) alone. RT-only therapy without chemotherapy is effective. But, as patients with germinoma can expect long-term survival, the adverse effects of RT and late sequelae in survivors are of most concern.

What is germ cell Tumour?

Germ cell tumors are growths that form from reproductive cells. Tumors may be cancerous or noncancerous. Most germ cell tumors that are cancerous occur as cancer of the testicles (testicular cancer) or cancer of the ovaries (ovarian cancer).

Can you survive germinoma?

The 5-year survival rate for teens ages 15 to 19 is 93%. The survival and cure rates also depend on several factors, including the stage of the disease. The cure rate for children with a stage I or stage II germ cell tumor is 90%. The cure rate for a stage III tumor is 87%.

How is germinoma treated?

Germinoma is typically treated with radiation and in some cases, chemotherapy. Radiation can be curative for a majority of patients, however the long-term effects of this therapy has led to further investigation of treatments that combine chemotherapy with lower volumes and doses of radiation.

What is a Germinoma?

A germinoma is a type of germ cell tumor commonly found in the brain. Germ cells typically migrate to the gonads during fetal development and become an egg in female ovaries or sperm in male testes.

How common is germ cell tumors?

Germ cell tumors are rare. Germ cell tumors account for about 2 to 4 percent of all cancers in children and adolescents younger than age 20. Germ cell tumors can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. The most common sites for metastasis are the lungs, liver, lymph nodes, and central nervous system.

How to diagnose a central nervous system germinoma?

Central nervous system germinoma 1 Epidemiology. Germinomas are tumors of young patients with a peak incidence of 10-12 years of age (90% of patients being younger than 20 at the time of diagnosis). 2 Clinical presentation. 3 Pathology 4 Radiographic features. 5 Treatment and prognosis. 6 Differential diagnosis.

What kind of tumor is an intracranial germinoma?

Intracranial germinomas, also known as dysgerminomas or extra-gonadal seminomas, are a type of germ cell tumor and are predominantly seen in pediatric populations.

Where do germinomas occur in the human body?

Intracranial germinomas, also known as dysgerminomas or extra-gonadal seminomas, are a type of germ cell tumor and are predominantly seen in pediatric populations. They tend to occur in the midline, either at the pineal region (majority) or along the floor of the third ventricle/suprasellar region.

How are germinomas related to pineal calcification?

Germinomas are soft tissue density, enhancing masses. When present in the pineal region they appear to “engulf” the normal pineal tissue and can have associated central calcification, in contrast to pineocytomas, and pineoblastomas which are described as “exploding” the foci of calcification.