Jj. Cruz et al., SUSPECTED EXTRAGONADAL GERM-CELL CANCER SYNDROME PRESENTING WITH AN ORBITAL MASS AND ELEVATION OF SERUM CEA, CA19-9 AND CA50 LEVELS, Tumori, 81(5), 1995, pp. 378-380
Patients with extragonadal germ-cell cancer syndrome (EGCCS) represent
a subgroup of patients with poorly differentiated carcinoma or adenoc
arcinoma of an unknown primary site for whom potentially curative ther
apy is available, We report the case of a young man presenting an orbi
tal tumor and high serum levels of CEA, CA19-9 and CA50 for whom an in
itial diagnosis of metastatic poorly differentiated carcinoma was made
, Suspecting EGCCS, he was treated as for a germ-cell tumor. While in
treatment, he underwent residual orbital mass resection, and the histo
logic diagnosis was embryonal carcinoma based on alphafetoprotein immu
noperoxidase staining, We discuss the rare location at diagnosis, the
impressive increase in the commonly considered gastrointestinal marker
s that he showed, and the potential utility of these markers for such
patients.