Immature teratoma is a rare type of germ cell tumor containing embryonic tissues that may be malignant. It usually occurs in young women and affects the ovaries. Teratomas exhibit benign clinical behavior, but they can return as teratomas or with malignant components, and in a small subset of individuals, the prognosis may be deadly. We will discuss a case of a 9-year-old female child who presented with pain and a huge lump in the lower abdomen that was suggestive of an ovarian dermoid cyst or a germ cell tumor on computed tomography (CT) abdomen pelvis and underwent exploratory laparotomy and debulking surgery. Histopathology results indicated that she had a grade 3 immature teratoma. Postoperatively, the patient received 3 cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) as adjuvant chemotherapy with a good response. She is currently under regular follow-up and has no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. This case illustrates the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of immature teratoma, which can be cured with surgery and chemotherapy. It also highlights the challenges of managing such a large tumor in a pediatric patient.
Keywords: adjuvant chemotheapy; explorative laparotomy; fertility-sparing treatment; immature teratoma; pediatric tumours; unexpected ovarian malignancy.
Copyright © 2023, Patel et al.