Sacrococcygeal teratoma in an adult female patient-case report and review of literature

Abstract

Sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) in adults is very rare with only a few cases documented in the literature, adult prevalence varies between 1 in 40 000 and 1 in 63 000. Most SCTs are located either mainly extra-pelvic (types I and II), which are more commonly seen in neonates; however, mainly intra-pelvic tumors (types III and IV) are more typical in adulthood. Extra-pelvic teratomas are extremely rare in adults. When SCT manifests in an adult, it appears as a slow-growing tumor without symptoms and usually manifests after becoming large enough to cause compression symptoms. SCT has a 1-2% probability of malignant transformation. Herein, we report a 20-year-old female, who was diagnosed with lower back swelling since childhood that increased in size over the last 2 months; imaging revealed an extra-pelvic mass. This case describes an atypical scenario for SCT, which was successfully managed with surgery. The histopathology report confirmed the diagnosis.