Recurrence of teratoma is possible

Experts say that teratomas can recur after surgery. Benign mature ovarian teratomas may become malignant, with a malignancy rate of about 2-3%. A very small number of patients will have a teratoma reappear on the same or opposite side after surgery. Ovarian teratomas are heterogeneous and prone to tumor torsion. Once torsion occurs, emergency surgery is required. In most cases, the appendages on the twisted side must be removed, causing irreversible damage to the body. Most clinical cases of ovarian cyst pedicle torsion are caused by teratomas.

Ovarian teratomas are divided into mature teratomas (benign) and immature teratomas (malignant), of which 97% are cystic mature teratomas, also known as dermoid cysts. Dermoid cysts are the most common ovarian tumors, accounting for 10%-20% of all ovarian tumors, 85%-97% of germ cell tumors, and more than 95% of teratomas. Because it has nothing to do with pregnancy, ovarian teratomas can occur at any age, including newborns, teenagers, middle-aged or elderly people, but 80%-90% are women of childbearing age aged 20-40, accounting for about 1/4-1/3 of ovarian tumors. Most are unilateral, and about 10% to 17% are bilateral.

Immature teratoma is a malignant tumor containing 2 to 3 germ layers. The tumor is composed of immature embryonic tissues of varying degrees of differentiation, mainly primitive neural tissue. It is common in adolescents. The tumor is mostly solid, with cystic areas. The malignancy of the tumor depends on the proportion of immature tissue, the degree of differentiation, and the content of neuroepithelium. The recurrence and metastasis rates are high. However, after recurrence, surgery was performed again, and it was found that the tumor tissue had the characteristics of transformation from immature to mature, that is, the reversal of the degree of malignancy.