Primary mediastinal germ cell tumor in a middle-aged woman: Case report and literature review

Although primary mediastinal germ cell tumors are found much more frequentl y among young males than among other people, we recently encountered a midd le-aged woman with the disease. The patient was a 59-year-old woman who com plained mainly of anterior chest pain. Chest CT scans revealed a nonhomogen eous mass measuring 7 x 7 cm in the anterior mediastinal area, accompanied by signs suggestive of mediastinal invasion of the tumor. Reduction surgery was performed. The pathologic diagnosis was mediastinal dysgerminoma. The patient received postoperative radiochemotherapy but died due to liver meta stasis 11 months after surgery.