Dysgerminoma. The Radiumhemmet series 1927-1984

Dysgerminoma is a rare, highly radiosensitive, malignant germ cell tumor occurring in young females. At Radiumhemmet, Stockholm, Sweden, from 1927 to 1984, 60 patients with histologically confirmed pure dysgerminoma were treated. Primary treatment was surgery followed by radiotherapy. Recurrences were irradiated. The mean age was 23.2 years. Sixty-seven percent were in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stage I, 6% Stage II, 22% Stage III, 3% Stage IV, and 2% were not staged. The median follow-up time was 19 years (range, 1-53). Generally, women with Stage IA disease had unilateral oophorectomy and unilateral external irradiation. Fourteen have borne 22 children after treatment. Seventeen women in the series have died, 11 from dysgerminoma. Actuarial survival, only counting deaths from dysgerminoma, was 83% at 5 years. No patient has died of dysgerminoma since 1963 when radiotherapy with megavoltage x-rays was introduced. The authors consider external irradiation to be an effective treatment as a complement to surgery in dysgerminoma of the ovary.