New progress in teratoma diagnosis

Many patients do not know much about teratoma. In fact, teratoma is not a difficult disease. It is a benign gynecological tumor. Imaging and serum tests are of great reference value for the diagnosis of teratoma. Next, let's take a look at the new progress in the diagnosis of teratoma.

Most teratomas are exophytic or have palpable masses, and early diagnosis is often possible based on clinical manifestations. Careful abdominal examination and pulmonary teratoma angiography.

Rectal examination is very necessary for the examination of abdominal, pelvic and occult sacrococcygeal teratomas. X-ray films of the tumor site can reveal abnormal calcifications of bones and teeth in the tumor to confirm the teratoma, which is mostly mature teratoma. Gastrointestinal barium meal, barium enema and intravenous pyelography can understand the compression and displacement of the gastrointestinal tract or organs such as kidneys, ureters and bladder in the corresponding parts. CT and MRI examinations should be performed for teratomas that grow rapidly and have a wide range of infiltration to clarify the range of tumor infiltration and its adjacent relationship with important blood vessels and spinal nerves.

If a malignant teratoma is considered, the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels should be tested for diagnosis and prognosis. 92% of malignant teratomas have elevated alpha-fetoprotein, while 4% of benign teratomas have abnormal AFP. It was found that patients with elevated AFP in benign teratomas had a significantly increased recurrence rate after surgery.

Spine X-rays show a large or obvious widening of the intervertebral cavity, narrow pedicles at the site of the lesion, widened interpedicular distance, concavity of the posterior edge of the vertebral body, and in some cases, manifestations of spina bifida.

CT and MRI have obvious advantages in diagnosing teratomas, and both can better show the heterogeneity of tumors. On MRI images, teratomas appear as mixed signals, often with intact cyst walls, rich in fat signals, with or without intratumoral enhancement nodules, and usually, in addition to the tumor, are often accompanied by spina bifida or vertebral dysplasia.