Sacrococcygeal germ-cell tumours the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital experience, 1980-1996

Objective. To document the experience of Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in the treatment of sacrococcygeal germ-cell rumours. Patients. Twenty-seven patients with sacrococcygeal germ-cell rumours were treated in our hospital from 1980 to 1996. Design. A retrospective rt view of these patients' records was undertaken. Results. There were 19 female and 8 male patients. Seventeen (63%) presente d in the neonatal period, 13 on the first day of life. Complete surgical re section of the tumour was achieved in all patients with mature or immature teratomas (20 patients) and in 2 neonates with malignant rumours. The first of these 2 neonates, with a malignant teratoma, was not given chemotherapy and remains well 10 years later. The second, with a yolk-sec tumour, also received no initial chemotherapy. He relapsed at the age of 9 months and wa s successfully treated with repeat excision and chemotherapy. All 5 patient s first diagnosed after the age of 1 year had malignant rumours. These pati ents had incomplete surgical resection (3) or biopsy only (2), and 3 were s uccessfully treated with chemotherapy. One patient relapsed with yolk-sac t umour after initial complete resection of a mature teratoma. She was succes sfully treated with repeat surgery and chemotherapy.