Immature teratoma

An immature teratoma is a teratoma that contains anaplastic immature elements, and is often synonymous with malignant teratoma.^[1] A teratoma is a tumor of germ cell origin, containing tissues from more than one germ cell line,^[2][3][4] It can be ovarian or testicular in its origin.^[4] and are almost always benign.^[5] An immature teratoma is thus a very rare tumor, representing 1% of all teratomas, 1% of all ovarian cancers, and 35.6% of malignant ovarian germ cell tumors.^[6] It displays a specific age of incidence, occurring most frequently in the first two decades of life and almost never after menopause.^[4] Unlike a mature cystic teratoma, an immature teratoma contains immature or embryonic structures. It can coexist with mature cystic teratomas and can constitute of a combination of both adult and embryonic tissue.^[7][8] The most common symptoms noted are abdominal distension and masses.^[9] Prognosis and treatment options vary and largely depend on grade, stage and karyotype of the tumor itself.