Will untreated teratoma shorten lifespan?

Teratomas originate from the reproductive cells of the ovaries. One type is a cystic mature teratoma, which is benign. Another 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 is more malignant, but the prognosis is better after treatment.

Once a teratoma is diagnosed, early surgical resection is necessary to prevent benign teratoma from becoming malignant due to delayed surgery, and to prevent infection, rupture, bleeding and complications. 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, the coccyx must be removed at the same time to avoid residual pluripotent cells that may cause tumor recurrence.

The prognosis of teratoma is closely related to factors such as the age of first diagnosis, tumor location, incidence of malignant transformation, and treatment results. The younger the age of first diagnosis, the lower the incidence of malignancy. Among them, the malignancy rate of occult teratoma is the highest, reaching 71.4%; the mixed type is 46.7%, and the overt type is only 9.4%.

Complete removal of the tumor and reduction of postoperative recurrence and malignant transformation are another major prognostic factor for teratoma. Even for malignant teratoma, complete surgical resection is still the basic guarantee for long-term survival. At present, the three-year survival rate of comprehensive treatment after complete resection of malignant teratoma can reach 50%, and the five-year survival rate is 35%, while the survival rate of residual or recurrent tumors during surgery is only 3%. Among them, the survival rate of malignant teratomas in parts that are easy to completely remove, such as testicles and ovaries, is significantly higher than that of retroperitoneal and sacrococcygeal malignant teratomas. Among them, the prognosis of occult sacrococcygeal malignant teratomas is the worst, with a survival rate of only 8%.