What is the modern treatment method for teratoma

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 treatment principle of malignant 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, it is recommended to use cisplatin, doxorubicin, ifosfamide and other chemotherapy drugs for combined chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is only used for cases of malignant teratoma with 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.