Teratoma recurrence question

[Una]

If your infant teratoma survivor has clear scans and okay AFP test results
for 2 years, would you (did you?) stop the "watch and wait"?

I know there are some cases of tumors recurring after 2 years, but are
those really late recurrences, or are they the result of not looking for
signs of recurrence sooner?

Una

[Ruth]

Hi Una

I have found several studies which stress the importance of
maintaining the "watch and wait" attitude for the first three, post-
operative years:


In

J. Kouranloo*, N. Sadeghian and A. R. Mirshemirani

BENIGN SACROCOCCYGEAL TERATOMA:
A FIFTEEN-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY
Department of Pediatric Surgery, School of Medicine, Shaheed Beheshtee
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

"We conclude that SCT, although histologically benign, has an
alarming potential to recur either as a benign or malignant tumor
during the first 3 years of life,
therefore, a close follow up for at least 3 years (physical
examination serum α-fetoprotein and
diagnostic imaging) is recommended for all patients who have undergone
excision of SCT."

This (complete) paper is available in PDF, amongst our SCT ressources
in the "pages" section.

In

R Tuladhar, S K Patole, J S Whitehall

Sacrococcygeal teratoma in the perinatal period

"Bilik et al reported markedly raised serum á fetoprotein in malignant
recurrent compared with benign sacrococcygeal teratomas.49 As none of
the variables except tumour size was found to be a reliable predictor
of recurrence, these investigators concluded that meticulous routine
physical examination is essential every three to six months for at
least the first three
postoperative years to detect recurrence."

(I have the complete paper in PDF if you want it)

In

Rescorla FJ, Sawin RS, Coran AG, Dillon PW, Azizkhan RG.

Long-term outcome for infants and children with sacrococcygeal
teratoma: a report from the Childrens Cancer Group.


<< CONCLUSIONS: (1) Benign teratomas have a significant recurrence rate
mandating close follow-up for more than 3 years."

Hope this helps

Hugs
Ruth