Clinical, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary: Experience of 21 years old Tunisian

Abstract

Introduction: malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary (TGMO) are rare ovarian tumors. Each histological type can have clinical and therapeutic particularities which it is important to know. The objective was to report and analyze the particularities of the epidemiological, diagnostic, anatomopathological, therapeutic and prognostic data of TGMO in Tunisian context. Methods: this study is a retrospective descriptive and analytical survey carried out at the Gynecology-Obstetrics departments of the CHU FARHAT HACHED in Sousse over a period of 21years collecting all the cases of patients having been treated for TGMO. Results: a total number of 30 files was eligible for our study. The average age of our patients was 22years. The majority of patients were in a period of genital activity. The reason for the consultation was mainly represented by abdomino-pelvic pain followed by an increase in abdominal volume. Abdominopelvic ultrasound was performed in 80% of our patients showing a suspicious appearance of malignancy in 100% of them. For our patients, 70% were approached by median laparotomy given the tumor volume and only 30% by laparoscopy. 76.7% had conservative treatment. The predominance of stage I was noted while there was no case in stage IV. The overall survival for all stages was 96.7% at 2years and 85.7% at 5years and 75.8% at 10years. The prognostic factors of the TGMOs isolated from our series were the consultation time greater than 6 months, the age greater than 30years, the tumor size greater than 20cm and the tumor stage. Conclusion: it would be more interesting to bring together the other cases of TGMO diagnosed in other cancer registries in the country in order to establish a national register of rare ovarian tumors.