Mediastinal growing teratoma syndrome

A 27-year-old man had undergone orchiectomy and chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Despite normalization of raised tumor marker levels after postoperative chemotherapy, computed tomographic scanning demonstrated multiple swellings of the para-aortic lymph nodes with extension from beneath the aortic arch to the bifurcation of the descending aorta. Open biopsies of the para-aortic lymph nodes disclosed mature teraroma without malignant cells. The patient presented the typical features of mediastinal and retroperitoneal growing teratoma syndrome. A two stage resection of the tumors was performed via laparotomy and left thoracotomy. Histological examination of the resected specimens revealed a mature teratoma component without malignant cells. Upon follow-up sixteen months later, the patient was well and without recurrence.