How is teratoma?

➢ They may occur at any age from infancy to adult life : Teratoma, postpubertal-type : Malignant tumor Teratoma, prepubertal-type : Almost always exhibits benign behaviour Teratoma, postpubertal-type ➢ Malignant germ cell tumour derived from germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) and composed of several tissue types arising from one or more germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm). ➢ These tumors form firm masses that often contain cysts and recognizable areas of cartilage ➢ Pure forms of teratoma are fairly common in infants and children being second in frequency only to yolk sac tumors ➢ In adults, pure teratomas are rare, constituting 2% to 3% of germ cell tumors, and the remaining tumors are seen in combination with other histologic types