Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Extracranial Germ Cell Tumors: A 30-year single-center experience in Saudi Arabia

Introduction:The aim is to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics of extracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) in children aged 0-168 months treated at the National Guard Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2020. Methodology:In this retrospective analysis, the data for all cases of GCTs were collected from 1990 to 2020.Statistical analyses were carried out using JMP software.The data was divided into 4 main categories: demographics, pathological/clinical features, recurrence, treatment and outcome. Results:The study included 50 patients, with a mean age at diagnosis of 56.52 months.The median follow-up duration was 30 months.Most tumors were in the gonads, and among the extragonadal tumors, the sacro-coccyx was the most frequent site of the disease.The most common histological subtype of GCTs is yolk sac tumor, accounting for 28% of cases.Of the 50 patients, 46% received chemotherapy, and 54% underwent surgery without chemotherapy.Ten (20%) patients experienced recurrence after treatment.At the last follow-up, 96% of the patients were alive, and only 2 of the patients died due to advanced disease. Conclusion:Our findings were comparable to international data, but improvement in surveillance is required for long-term survivors.