How to treat teratoma

Teratoma is a disease with a long history. I believe that everyone does not know much about teratoma. Teratoma is a common ovarian germ cell tumor, which can be benign or malignant. Teratoma is called a freak by people. Due to its different shape and location, it is not easy to treat. Nowadays, the harm of teratoma is relatively large. Once the patient is diagnosed, it must be treated in time. So, how to treat teratoma? Let's take a look with the editor below.

In some teratomas, the mature head section covered with hair looks very similar to the scalp of a fetus, which is really creepy. Some bone pieces differentiate into irregular bone pieces, while others differentiate into pieces that are almost exactly the same as children's teeth. It is now recognized that the malignancy of immature teratomas has a regular transformation to benign. If repeated surgery, chemotherapy and supportive treatment allow the patient to survive for more than 1 year, the tumor may be reversed to a mature type and become a benign tumor.

Combination therapy:

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, combined chemotherapy with cisplatin, doxorubicin, ifosfamide and other chemotherapy drugs is recommended. Radiotherapy is only used for cases of malignant teratoma with clear microscopic or macroscopic residuals. The radiotherapy dose is preferably 25Gy for microscopic residuals, and 35Gy can be used for macroscopic residuals. 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.

Surgical treatment:

Once the diagnosis of mature ovarian cystic teratoma is established, surgical treatment is most likely required, it is just a matter of time. As for the specific diameter that is worthy of surgery, it is still under in-depth research. Generally speaking, if the diameter of the tumor does not exceed 5 cm, surgery can be temporarily avoided and regular check-ups can be conducted. However, if the patient has a need to have children in the near future, the threshold should be lowered, and surgery is worthy of surgery if the diameter exceeds 4 cm. Whether it is traditional open surgery or minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, there was controversy in the past, but it has been settled recently. It was previously believed that teratoma was a contraindication for laparoscopic surgery, for fear that the tumor would rupture during surgery and contaminate the pelvic cavity, but in recent years, it is believed that laparoscopy is the best surgical method after paying attention to some details during surgery.

Radiation therapy:

Radiotherapy is only used for cases of malignant teratoma with clear microscopic or macroscopic residues. The appropriate radiotherapy dose for microscopic residues is 25 Gy, and 35 Gy can be used for macroscopic residues. For those who have undergone complete surgical resection, chemotherapy has been advocated as the main treatment in recent years, with radiotherapy used with caution to avoid delayed damage to reproductive organs and bone development during radiotherapy.

Drug treatment:

In the treatment of teratoma, in addition to active medication, we should also take comprehensive nursing measures. When we choose the method of treating teratoma, we should consider it comprehensively instead of choosing it arbitrarily.

Warm reminder: Teratoma is quite harmful. Patients should receive symptomatic treatment according to their own conditions, eat a reasonable diet, and pay attention to their own care. I hope the above article can help patients.