Will I feel pain if I have a teratoma?

Will I feel pain if I have a teratoma? During the development of human embryos, there is a pluripotent cell with pluripotent development potential. Under normal embryonic development, it develops and differentiates into mature cells of each germ layer. If some pluripotent cells separate or fall off from the whole at different embryonic stages, causing cell genes to mutate and differentiation to be abnormal, embryo abnormalities may occur. It is generally believed that if this separation or shedding occurs in the early embryo, a teratoma will be formed; if it occurs in the late embryo, an abnormally differentiated tissue with three germ layers of endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm will be formed, that is, a teratoma will be formed.

Teratomas may present with various clinical symptoms and manifestations due to their different locations, multiple complications, and obvious malignant tendencies:

1. Painless mass: This is the most common symptom of teratoma. Most of them are round cystic with clear boundaries and uneven hardness. Even bony nodules can be palpated. Exophytic tumors are common in midline areas such as the sacrococcygeal, occipital, forehead, and nose. Sacrococcygeal teratoma can be divided into three clinical types according to its location: overt, latent, and mixed.

2. Pressure and cavity obstruction: Mediastinal teratomas can often compress the respiratory tract and cause choking, dyspnea, and distended neck veins; retroperitoneal teratomas often cause abdominal pain and can cause intestinal obstruction. Pelvic and sacrococcygeal occult teratomas are often diagnosed due to constipation, difficulty defecating, and urinary retention.

3. Acute symptoms of abnormal changes in tumors: Ovarian and testicular teratomas may cause ovarian or testicular torsion and necrosis, manifested by severe pain and corresponding local symptoms; when secondary infection and intracystic bleeding occur in teratomas, the tumor may often increase rapidly, with obvious local tenderness, and accompanied by systemic infection or blood loss symptoms such as fever, anemia, and shock; tumors in the retroperitoneum, ovaries, pelvis, sacrum, and other parts may also suddenly rupture and cause severe manifestations such as massive bleeding, hemoperitoneum, and shock.

4. Symptoms of tumor malignancy: When malignant teratomas and benign teratomas become malignant, they often show rapid tumor growth and loss of original elasticity. For exophytic tumors, superficial veins may be dilated and congested, and local skin may be infiltrated with increased skin temperature. Lymph node enlargement and lung and bone metastasis may occur through lymphatic and blood circulation, and systemic symptoms such as weight loss, anemia, and tumor fever may also occur.