Teratoma Tumor Research Articles

Extensive transcription of foreign DNA in a crown gall teratoma

We detected polyadenylated RNA transcripts of the portion of A. tumefaciens tumor inducing plasmid DNA incorporated into a crown gall teratoma tumor, BT37. Our results indicate that transcription occurs throughout the plasmid sequences in the tumor tissue. Those DNA sequences which are essential for oncogenicity and nopaline sysnthesis are most heavily transcribed. Possible functions of these polyadenylated transcripts are discussed.

TESTICULAR TUMOURS: TREATMENT BY SURGERY AND RADIOTHERAPY

The treatment of testicular tumours, particularly teratomas, remains controversial. The results of treatment in 146 such tumours treated by surgery and radiotherapy are discussed. A case is made for a selective policy towards retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in teratomatous tumours. Where isolated pulmonary metastases occur, resection of these is well worth while.

Operative and cytostatic treatment of germinal tumours of the testis.

The suspicion of a testicular tumour justifies an early exploratory exposure. An accurate pathomorphological examination of different tumour areas is obtained from “extended semicastration”. A complex treatment plan can only be drawn up based on these results. Of the 149 germinal tumours of the testis which we have observed, seminoma had the most favourable prognosis with semicastration and follow-up radiotherapy. “Extended semicastration”, lymphoadenectomy and “cytostatic triple drug therapy at long intervals” improved the otherwise unfavourable prognosis of teratomatous tumours. Lymphadenectomy as we performed it in 59 patients had a complication rate of 9%. The results of the treatment in our patients are presented and compared with those of other authors.

Teratomas in children: Clinical and pathologic aspects

Teratomatous Tumors are interesting because of their obscure origin, bizarre microscopic appearance, and sometimes unpredictable behavior. Because they occur not infrequently in children, the clinician should be aware of their clinical features, natural history, pathology, and principles of treatment. In an attempt to document some of these features further, the clinical and pathologic aspects of 58 cases of teratomas in children seen at the Mayo Clinic during a 31-yr period were reviewed.

Classification of Different Pathologic Types

Neoplasms arising in the testis are often of complex character and differ in many respects from neoplasms of nongonadal tissues. Unfortunately, certain critically important and interrelated details are not completely understood; these concern the embryology of the testis, the histogenesis of teratomatous tumors, the histogenesis, nature, and nomenclature of those neoplasms derived from primordial germ cells, and that of those neoplasms derived from nongerminal elements. Testicular neoplasms are relatively rare, comprising somewhat less than 1% of all cancers occurring in males and having an average annual incidence of about 2.3 per 100,000 males in English speaking populations.^8,9Nevertheless, they have provoked considerable interest because more than 90% of these tumors prove to be malignant and because they occur predominantly in young men who are in the prime of life (during the third and fourth decades). Excluding leukemias and malignant lymphomas, testicular tumors constitute the leading form of lethal cancer

Tumours of the thymus. A review of 88 operation cases.

Eighty-eight cases of thymoma are discussed with the object of trying to co-ordinate the histological and clinical features. The pathological specimens were in all cases obtained at operation. The pathology classification introduced by Thomson and Thackray in 1957 has been found to correspond adequately with the clinical pattern. The most common groups of tumours are basically epithelial and can be separated into five or six subdivisions, each of which has a separate pattern of behaviour. Lymphoid and teratomatous tumours also occur, but there were only two examples in this series. Clinically, separation of patients who suffered from myasthenia (38) and those who did not (50) affords the first main grouping. The majority of patients who had myasthenia gravis had tumours classified as epidermoid (19) and lymphoepithelial (14), the former with a more malignant appearance and behaviour than the latter. Removal of the tumour with or without radiation gave considerable and sometimes complete relief from myasthenic symptoms. Non-myasthenic thymoma (50) was usually discovered as a result of pressure signs or in the course of routine radiography. Spindle or oval celled tumours followed a benign pattern whereas undifferentiated thymoma was in every sense malignant, as also were teratomatous growths. Granulomatous or Hodgkin-like thymomas were of special interest and had an unpredictable course, some patients surviving many years after what was regarded as inadequate treatment. The place of radiotherapy as a pre- or post-operative agent complementary to surgery is discussed.

Pneumographic Diagnosis of Intraventricular Epidermoid

Intracranial epidermoids are comparatively rare, the reported incidence being somewhat variable, probably less than 1 per cent of all brain tumours. Intraventricular epidermoids are even less common but, when present, produce a characteristic pneumographic appearance which cannot easily be mistaken for any other lesion. This was first noted by Krieg (1), in 1936, who published, two such cases, in one of which he observed irregular rounded shadows in the ventricle. Quite independently, in 1937, Dyke and Davidoff (2) reported a large right intraventricular epidermoid cyst which was successfully removed. They described an appearance in the encephalogram of irregularly shaped collections of gas distributed through that portion of the right middle fossa normally occupied by the thalamus, island of Reil, temporal lobe, and posterior portion of the frontal lobe. There was slight lateral displacement of the ventricular system, and the right frontal horn and the anterior portion of the lateral ventricle were elevated. Dyke (3) later reported a similar case in which the tumour was situated in the posterior thirds of the lateral ventricles and again he noted large irregular streaks of gas which passed through the substance of the tumour and the area of brain normally occupied by the splenium of the corpus callosum. He felt that this was due to folds in the walls of the tumour. Weinberger (4) reported two more cases in 1938, one of them verified, and he remarked upon the “sponge-like” appearance after gas injection. Peyton and Baker (5), in 1942, reported 14 cases of epidermoid and teratomatous tumours of the central nervous system, one of which was an intraventricular epidermoid. The encephalogram in this instance revealed a large cystic area partially filled with air and partially with tumour, situated in the region of the right parietal and occipital lobes and occupying the ventricle but extending far beyond its normal confines. There was displacement of the left lateral ventricle to the left. In view of the comparatively small number of such cases in the literature diagnosed preoperatively, it is felt to be worth while to report the following case, as it shows the typical pneumographic features of an intraventricular epidermoid that progressed to an extreme size. Except for the progression of the symptoms and moderately raised spinal fluid pressure, an expanding intracranial lesion would not have been suspected. In fact, at different times in the illness such diagnoses as hysteria, disseminated sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease were considered. Case Report I. D., a 37-year-old white female, was admitted to the Montreal Neurological Institute on Oct. 1, 1944, complaining of weakness of the legs and difficulty in walking. For fifteen years she had been employed as a clerk in the office of a large insurance company without missing a day from work on account of illness.

Treatment of Malignant Tumors of the Testis

The incidence of malignant testicular tumors is relatively low. It has been estimated by Cade that they constitute 1 to 1.5 per cent of all malignant tumors in males and that they make up about 3 per cent of neoplasms of the genito-urinary tract. Pack and LeFevre reported an incidence of 1 per cent among 16,565 patients with malignant tumors seen at Memorial Hospital, New York, while Dean at the same institute in 1935 found 2.09 per cent of all malignant neoplasms in males to be testicular tumors. In regard to all male hospital admissions, it may be mentioned that Tanner in 1922 found one testicular tumor for every 2,000 patients. The present study is based on the tumors of the testis treated at the University of Minnesota Hospitals from 1926 to 1943 inclusive. The total number amounted to 100 and they were placed in three groups: 34 cases were not classified as to type, while 37 were seminomas and 29 were carcinomatous mixed tumors. Etiology The average age in this series was for seminoma 37.6 years and for carcinomatous mixed tumors 29.4 years. This is in agreement with the statement of Cade that teratomatous tumors occur chiefly between twenty and forty years, and the seminomas between thirty and fifty. A history of trauma was obtained in 15 per cent of the cases. This is somewhat lower than in series reported by other authors. Russell Howard obtained a history of trauma in 5 cases out of 27, Nash and Leddy in 21 out of 103. The figures of some authors are as high as 50 per cent. Cryptorchidism was present in 8 cases. Nash and Leddy reported an incidence of 8.7 per cent and Dean found 35 cases in a series of 245, or 14.3 per cent. Hydrocele was observed in 6 patients, and in 3 of these a malignant tumor of the testis was discovered during the operation for hydrocele. Classification Classification of malignant tumors of the testis is a confused subject, and opinions vary greatly. At the University of Minnesota Hospitals we follow E. T. Bell's classification. Bell states: “Testicular tumors may be divided into four groups: adult teratomas, carcinomatous mixed tumors, seminomas, and chorionepitheliomas. “1. Adult teratomas may be typical dermoid cysts containing hair, fatty material, teeth, etc., or they may consist of many small cysts separated by solid tissue. These tumors are rare, develop slowly over many years, and offer relatively good prognosis. “2. Carcinomatous mixed tumors are soft cellular growths consisting chiefly of epithelium in form of cysts or solid masses of carcinomatous structure. Cartilage and myxomatous tissue may be found scattered through the tumor. “3. Seminoma is the most common form of testicular neoplasm. It consists chiefly of rounded or polyhedral clear cells arranged in thick solid cords and bearing some resemblance to testicular tubules. Little or no cartilage is present. “4. Chorionepithelioma is a malignant tumor arising from chorionic epithelium.

TERATOMA OF THE PINEAL BODY

The occurrence of a teratomatous tumor in the pineal body of a female is very rare, only 1 instance being recorded in the literature (Luce¹). The case to be reported is unusual both because of the large size of the tumor and because of its occurrence in a girl aged 6 months, who clinically presented the picture of slowly, progressively developing internal hydrocephalus. <h3>REPORT OF A CASE</h3><h3>History.</h3> —A white girl was admitted to the pediatric division of the Cook County Hospital on Jan. 26, 1937. She was born on Aug. 25, 1936, after a labor that lasted ten hours and was uneventful. Soon afterward, the child began to vomit after feeding, and she was taken to a nearby hospital, where bilateral ventricular puncture and lumbar puncture were done, with insertion of dye into one of the lateral ventricles. This showed free communication between the lateral ventricles but none

A complete unequal twin in a teratomatous tumor of a Belgian hare

A complete unequal twin in a teratomatous tumor of a Belgian hare

NEUROGENIC TUMORS ARISING FROM THE SACRUM

The perplexing problems encountered in the diagnosis and treatment of sacral and anterosacral tumors and cysts have prompted this review of 33 neurogenic tumors. It is usually assumed that neurogenic tumors are found in the cerebrospinal axis or associated with the peripheral nervous system. However, during the last fifteen years we have encountered a number of neurogenic neoplasms associated with the sacrum and independent of the cerebrospinal axis and peripheral nervous system. The group includes 19 chordomas, 7 ependymomas, 2 ganglioneuromas, 3 neurofibromas, 1 teratoma and 1 spina bifida cystica of the pelvis. It is hoped that a review of the clinical histories, pathologic observations and therapeutic measures employed may offer some assistance in the differential diagnosis and treatment of similar conditions. Tumors ventral to the sacrum often have been called Middeldorpf tumors, but this term should be limited to those teratomatous tumors that arise from the postanal portion of