A teratoma is a rare type of tumor which contains fully developed tissues and organs, including bone, hair, teeth, muscle. It is most commonly found in the ovaries, tailbone, and testicles, but can stay anywhere in the body. It can be found in newborns, children, or adults and it is more common in females. Generally, there are two types of teratomas: mature (benign) or immature (malignant).
Causes
It arises in your body’s germ cells and usually you get it from a complication in the body’s growth process, involving the way that your cells differentiate and specialize.
Symptoms:
At first, sufferers may not present any symptoms. As it develops, the symptoms shown could vary based on the location of the teratoma. Possible symptoms may include: pain, swelling and bleeding, mildly elevated levels of alpha-feroprotein (AFP). In some cases, symptoms may also include: constipation, abdominal pain, painful urination, leg weakness
Treatments:
For different cases of different severity of the symptoms, methods of treatment thus vary. For some cases, fetal surgery is needed to remove the SCT. For other cases, surgery is needed. If the teratoma is malignant, chemotherapy is used along with the surgery.
