[Dysgerminomas. Clinical aspects, therapy and prognosis with reference to the cooperative therapy study MAIKEI 83/86 for non-testicular germ cell tumors of the Society of Pediatric Oncology].

In comparison to other malignant germ cell tumors, dysgerminomas of the ovary show a high sensitivity to radiotherapy. According to histology and biological behaviour, dysgerminomas of the ovary are similar to testicular seminomas, which seem to be very sensitive to chemotherapy. Therefore, in the protocol for non-testicular germ cell tumors of the German Society of Pediatric Oncology (GPO) a treatment for dysgerminomas is established, in which the indication for primary tumor resection and a supplementary radiotherapy, or, in selected cases, primary chemotherapy and delayed tumor resection after the spreading, has been graded. After a median follow-up of 26 months, 17 of 18 patients were alive and disease-free, from which 3 patients with tumor progression after initial ovariectomy are in the second remission phase following relapse therapy. One patient died of tumor progression despite combined chemotherapy and irradiation. With a stratified therapy regime, fertility could be preserved with high probability in 13 of 17 patients.