[Brain metastases in malignant testicular teratomas]

Between 1974 and 1979 a total of 344 patients with testicular teratomas were treated at the West German Tumor Center, Essen. Brain metastases were encountered in 16 patients by means of neurologic symptoms as well as scintigraphy and computerized tomography. Cerebral involvement was closely related to preexistent lung metastases (n = 162) and the risk appeared to increase with the duration of pulmonal disease amounting to about 10% (16/162) in this group. Radiotherapy was the treatment of choice and produced objective and subjective improvement in 13 of 16 cases. Thus, long-term prognosis of patients with brain metastases was mainly determined by the preexistent metastatic involvement of the lungs.