This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Germ cell tumours (female germ cell tumours section)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Germ cell tumours in the female originate embryonically in the yolk sac and are present in the ovaries at birth. They are the second most common cause of ovarian neoplasia, accounting for 15 - 20% of cases. Overall, 95% are benign with a peak incidence in the third decade of life. However, in children less than 10 years of age, 85% may be malignant.

There are described in three main categories:

  • dysgerminoma - histologically similar to seminomas of the testes
  • teratoma
  • less common germ cell tumours e.g. nongestational choriocarcinoma, yolk sac tumour, and embryonal carcinoma

Presentation is usually non-specific and similar to that of ovarian epithelial tumours.

By comparison to testicular germ cell tumours, ovarian ones are twice as common and generally benign. Testicular germ cell tumours are generally malignant.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.