01.12.2011 | Case report | Ausgabe 1/2011 Open Access
Giant mediastinal mature teratoma with increased exocrine pancreatic activity presenting in a young woman: a case report
- Zeitschrift:
- Journal of Medical Case Reports > Ausgabe 1/2011
Wichtige Hinweise
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1752-1947-5-238) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
FS chose the surgical strategy (median sternotomy) and played the greatest role during the surgical operation.
FD was a major contributor to the writing of the manuscript and to collecting all the data about the patient that suggested the particularly high levels of amylase in the cystic fluid; he also reviewed the literature. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Abstract
Introduction
Mediastinal mature teratoma is a benign, slow-growing tumor typically affecting 20- to 40-year-old adults. Fluid examination from the cystic masses rarely shows enzymatic activity as we describe in this report.
Case presentation
We report a case of a giant mediastinal germ cell tumor (measuring 15 cm × 14 cm × 8 cm) detected in a 35-year-old Caucasian woman. Microscopic examination showed that the lesion resembled a mature cystic teratoma with areas of pancreatic tissue with mature ductal and acinar structures intermixed with islets of Langerhans. Fluid from the cysts in the mass was examined after removal showed amylase activity of 599 U/l despite normal serum levels. The post-operative period was free of complications, and the patient was discharged on post-operative day 10.
Conclusion
Complete surgical removal is the treatment of choice for mature cystic teratomas, with optimal results and acceptable surgical risk. Exocrine pancreatic function may be an aid to pre-operative or intra-operative diagnosis; however, these findings have no impact on survival or the therapeutic pathway.