What is ovarian teratoma

What is ovarian teratoma? Ovarian teratoma, also known as ovarian dermoid cyst in medicine, is an ovarian germ cell tumor. The cause of ovarian teratoma is still unclear, because most of them occur before the maturation and division of oocytes, and it is estimated that it may be caused by the failure of the first maturation and division.

Tumors contain three tissue components: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm, so tumors often contain ectoderm tissues such as hair, oil, skin, teeth, and bone fragments, and may also contain mesoderm or endoderm tissues such as muscle, gastrointestinal, and thyroid tissues. Since the center of ovarian teratoma is often biased to one side and located higher, it is easy to twist.

Disease classification

According to the pathological histological type, it is divided into mature teratoma, immature teratoma and ovarian goiter. The most common mature teratoma is mature cystic teratoma, also known as dermoid cyst. Immature teratoma has malignant biological behavior.

Pathogenesis

Theory of parthenogenesis

The most common etiology of immature teratoma is parthenogenesis caused by atypical division of primordial germ cells.

Totipotent cell theory

Early studies believed that teratomas come from primitive abnormal tissues in the early embryonic stage, which have the instinct of self-differentiation. These left-behind "totipotent cells" grow uncoordinatedly and develop abnormal embryos, thus becoming separated from the whole and causing disordered differentiation and excessive proliferation, eventually forming teratomas.

pathology

Ovarian teratomas are usually composed of 2-3 germ layers. Mature cystic teratomas have a smooth surface, intact capsule, and a diameter of about 10 cm. The cyst contains sebum and hair, and sometimes teeth, bones, and scalp head sections can be seen, with the head section protruding into the cavity as its characteristic. The degree of differentiation of immature teratomas varies, showing the process of each germ layer evolving from immature to mature stage. The histological morphology ranges from cancer to sarcoma, with various components mixed. Teratomas containing neural components are classified as immature teratomas.