Endodermal sinus tumor of the ovary: review of 10 cases

Endodermal sinus tumors are rare but highly malignant neoplasms of children and young adults. In all, only about 200 cases have been reported in the literature. Ten patients with endodermal sinus tumor of the ovary who were treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital from 1977 to 1989 were retrospectively reviewed. The median age of these patients was 24.7 years. The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain, occurring in all our patients. Nine of the 10 patients received combination chemotherapy; all but one survived and are currently well. The patient who received no chemotherapy died. Eight of the ten patients are alive and well. The roles of alpha-fetoprotein monitoring, second-look laparotomy, and conservative surgery are discussed. The need for aggressive combination chemotherapy for this tumor is confirmed by this study.