Why does the fetus have a cystic mass?

If a cystic mass is found during examination during pregnancy, special attention must be paid at this time. It is best to obtain tissue from the mass for pathological section diagnosis. The most likely possibility is a teratoma, which is an embryonic tissue that appears with the baby. It is generally benign and requires surgical removal to see if it affects the fetus. Let’s take a look at this aspect below.

What is a teratoma

Teratoma is a common type of ovarian germ cell tumor. It originates from germ cells and is divided into mature teratoma (benign teratoma) and immature teratoma (malignant teratoma). Benign teratomas contain many components, including skin, hair, teeth, bones, oil, nerve tissue, etc.; malignant teratomas are poorly differentiated, with no or little formed tissue and unclear structure. Early teratomas often have no obvious clinical symptoms and are mostly discovered accidentally during physical examinations.

Treatment

1. Benign intracranial teratoma requires surgical resection, but emphasis must be placed on three-dimensional multi-point sampling of pathological specimens to avoid missing the diagnosis of malignant components. If all can be removed, cure is expected. Since the tumor is often located in the midline, it is difficult to completely remove it during surgery. For those who cannot completely remove it, cerebrospinal fluid shunt surgery may be performed to relieve obstructive hydrocephalus. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are ineffective for benign teratomas. For immature and malignant teratomas, chemotherapy is performed first followed by radiotherapy. If the tumor has not disappeared after follow-up examination, surgical resection will be performed, and chemotherapy will be continued for 2 courses after the operation. 2. Gastric teratoma Rumen teratoma is mostly benign and has a good prognosis if removed surgically early. Long-term follow-up should be conducted after surgery, and AFP should be checked regularly. If there is no decrease or if it increases again after a decrease, it indicates recurrence or metastasis and further treatment is required. 3. Testicular teratoma surgery is the preferred treatment for testicular teratoma. For children with testicular teratoma, testicular-preserving surgery can be considered if the AFP level is normal, B-ultrasound indicates the presence of normal testicular parenchyma, and intraoperative frozen pathology examination results exclude malignant tumors. Patients with testicular dermoid cysts and testicular teratomas in children do not require additional treatment after surgery. Radical orchiectomy plus retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed in postpubertal patients with testicular teratoma and retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. The vast majority of teratoma metastases have the same pathological type as the primary lesion, but embryonal carcinoma components have also been found in teratoma metastases. The malignant components in distant metastatic teratomas are poorly responsive to chemotherapy regimens for germ cell tumors.