Yolk sac primary tumor of mediastino: a rare case in a young adult

Abstract

Germ cell tumors are rare neoplasms that mostly occur in the gonads, although they can also affect other body sites, especially the anterior mediastinum (50 to 70% of all extragonadal germ cell tumors). We report a case of a primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor, a rare and aggressive germ cell tumors subtype. This was a 38-year-old man who was admitted to Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual "Francisco Morato de Oliveira", complaining about dyspnea and dry cough for 1 year. The computed tomography scan of his chest revealed a large mass in the anterior mediastinum with heterogeneous enhancement to the contrast associated with pleural effusion. There were also high serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient underwent surgical resection of the mass, followed by pathological examination, which confirmed a primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor, a nonseminomatous subtype of germ cell tumors. Primary mediastinal yolk sac tumors have poor prognosis, despite advances in therapy with surgical resection and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. This poor prognosis is due to the degree of invasion and unresectability in most patients by the time of the diagnosis.