Late relapse of ovarian dysgerminoma: case report and literature review

Dysgerminoma of the ovary is a rare tumor. Ovarian dysgerminoma is chemosensitive and potentially curable even when in advanced stage. We report a case of intra-abdominal relapse of stage Ia ovarian dysgerminoma 20 years following initial surgery. The patient was treated with surgical resection followed by a full course of platinum-based chemotherapy. However, she had rapidly progressive disease and eventually died. To date, this is the latest reported case of relapse of ovarian dysgerminoma. This rare situation has been reported in patients with germ cell tumors of the testis, the male counterpart of ovarian germ cell tumors. Testis cancer patients with late relapse are rarely, if ever, curable by chemotherapy. A diagnosis of recurrent dysgerminoma should be considered in patients who have the appropriate findings with a history of dysgerminoma, even if remote. Patients with late recurrences of ovarian germ cell tumors may be less responsive to chemotherapy.