What to do if you have teratoma in early pregnancy

Early pregnancy teratoma is a benign tumor derived from germ cells, accounting for about 10-20% of all ovarian tumors, and is more common in young women. Germ cells can differentiate into various tissues of the human body, so the tumor will contain skin, hair, oil, teeth, cartilage and other components. The different proportions of these tissues make the center of gravity of the tumor often biased to one side. When the body rotates, the ovarian tumor twists from the pedicle. The following will introduce how to deal with early pregnancy teratoma.

In the treatment of early pregnancy teratoma, early surgical resection must be performed to avoid the malignant transformation of benign teratoma due to delayed surgery, and to prevent infection, rupture, bleeding and complications of the tumor. The key point of teratoma surgery is to completely remove the tumor. For ovarian and testicular tumors, one ovary or testicle should be removed. For sacrococcygeal teratoma, it is important to remove the coccyx together to avoid residual pluripotent cells and cause tumor recurrence.

The principle of treatment for malignant early pregnancy teratoma is combined adjuvant therapy. Conventional chemotherapy is used for 1.5 to 2 years after surgical resection. Cisplatin, vinblastine or vincristine, and bleomycin are commonly used. In recent years, combined chemotherapy with cisplatin, doxorubicin, ifosfamide and other chemotherapy drugs is recommended. Radiotherapy is only used for cases of malignant teratoma with clear microscopic or macroscopic residues. The radiotherapy dose is preferably 25Gy for microscopic residues, and 35Gy for macroscopic residues. For those with complete surgical resection, chemotherapy is advocated in recent years, and radiotherapy is used with caution to avoid delayed damage to reproductive organs and bone development during radiotherapy.

For patients with large or extensively infiltrated malignant teratomas that are clinically judged to be unresectable, preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy can be used to shrink the tumor before delayed radical surgery, which is of positive significance in improving the surgical resection rate and preserving important organs. For advanced cases, preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy can also achieve the therapeutic purpose of relieving tumor compression, controlling metastatic lesions, and gaining the opportunity for another surgery.

Early pregnancy teratomas originate from the reproductive cells of the ovaries. One type is a cystic mature teratoma, which is benign, and the other type is a malignant teratoma, which contains malignant components.

Benign teratomas can contain many components, including skin, hair, teeth, bones, and nerve tissue. If a part of the nerve tissue is not fully developed, it will turn into a malignant teratoma. This teratoma is more malignant, but the prognosis after treatment is better.

Most teratomas in early pregnancy are benign. If the tumor is very small, less than 2 or 3 centimeters, we recommend temporary observation. If it is more than 3 centimeters, surgery is required. The teratoma itself is not very homogeneous, and the density is uneven, so it is easy to twist. For the treatment of teratomas, we recommend surgery for more than 3 centimeters. If it is less than 3 centimeters, the tumor is too small and we have to find it during surgery, which will be more troublesome and cause great damage to the ovaries. In some cases, it may not even be found. At this time, it is recommended to continue observation, but regular follow-up is required. If it grows, do it, if it does not grow, observe.