Comparative observational study of serum neoplastic biomarker and immunohistochemistry in 28 cases of intracranial germ cell tumors

Abstract

Objective To conduct the comparative observational study of serum neoplastic biomarker and immunohistochemistry in intracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on clinical data of 28 cases of germ cell tumors undergoing surgery from March 2013 to July 2016 at Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital. Presurgical serum neoplastic biomarkers including α-fetoprotein (AFP), β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured and compared with postsurgical immunohistochemistry results of tumor specimens. Results Among the 28 cases of GCTs, germinoma was identified in 5 cases, teratoma in 2 cases, immature teratoma in 5 cases, choriocarcinoma in 1 case and mixed germ cell tumor in 15 cases. AFP was inconsisent in 8/28 cases, being positive in serum biomarker and negative in immunohistochemistry, and included 4 cases of immature teratoma and 4 mixed GCTs. β-HCG was incongruent in 5 cases (positive in serum and negative in immunohistochemistry). Among the 18 cases with pure germinoma component, placenta ALP (PLAP) immunohistochemistry revealed positive results in 15 cases, while serum ALP was significantly increased in only 4 cases and not detected in the remaining 14 cases. Conclusions The treatment and prognosis of intracranial GCTs might be correlated with different neoplastic components. Immunohistochemistry combined with serum biomarker could help demonstrate those neoplastic components more accurately and completely. Key words: Central nervous system; Neoplasms, germ cell and embryonal; Neoplastic biomarker; Immunohistochemistry