Extragonadal germ cell tumours in Mangalore with review of the literature

In the present study 32 extragonadal tumours, reported in 38 years (1956 to 1994) from the department of pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore were analysed. These were seen predominantly in infants and children mainly affecting females. The commonest sites of these tumours were sacrococcygeal region (46.88%) followed by retroperitoneum and mediastinum. The rarest sites were mesentery, fallopian tube and suprasellar region in the cranial cavity. Histologically 27 out of 32 cases were teratomas, 75% of which were benign.