Mediastinal germ cell cancer is a rare but dangerous type of cancer usually seen in childhood. A diagnosis of cancer is always frightening, but especially when the patient is a child. Children do not always understand serious illness and rely on parents and health professionals to give them support. Stage IV mediastinal germ cell cancer demands the most aggressive course of treatment.
Cancer
Cancer is the general name for an uncontrolled growth of abnormal human cells. Damage to deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, sometimes disrupts the cells' normal life cycles, leading to uncontrolled cell division. A mass of these abnormal cells is called a tumor. Some tumors are benign, meaning that they will only grow so large and then stop. When tumors impair the function of other organs or break up and spread throughout the body, doctors describe the cancer as malignant.
Stages of Cancer
Physicians who specialize in cancer, are also known as oncologists; they use staging to give a value to the severity of an individual's disease. The range of stages starts at 0 and goes up to IV. Stage 0 indicates isolated, abnormal growth that may or may not develop into full-blown cancer. Stage IV, on the other hand, describes cancer which has spread to many other parts of the body in a process called metastases. The type of cancer and its point of origin in the body are both factors in determining the stage. In all cases, Stage IV represents the most serious and advanced phase of the disease.
Germ Cell Cancer
In the developing fetus, germ cells are those structures that will later descend and grow into the male or female reproductive organs. Cancer in these cells may result in benign or malignant tumors in the testes or ovaries. Some germ cells occupy other regions of the body like the chest and pelvis. These areas may also develop into benign or malignant cancers. Germ cell cancer originating from the gonadal organs is most common in infants.
Mediastinal Germ Cell Cancer in Children
The mediastinum is the region of the chest that lies between the spinal column and the breast bone. Germ cell cancer originating in this region presents difficulties because of the close proximity to the heart and lungs. Twenty-one young patients underwent treatment for the disease at Children's Hospital in Boston from 1954 to 2011. Tumor removal surgery combined with powerful chemotherapy has demonstrated the greatest success, while the usefulness of radiation treatments is uncertain. Stage IV of any cancer represents a life-threatening condition, and the prognosis is usually not optimistic. Children who did not undergo surgery to remove their tumors all later died of complications.
References
- KidsHealth.org: Germ Cell Tumors; 2011
- The University of Texas; MD Anderson Cancer Center; Germ Cell Tumors - Childhood; 2011
- Medline Plus; Mediastinal Tumor; August 2011
- National Cancer Institute: Cancer Staging
- "Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery"; Mediastinal Germ Cell Tumors in Childhood; E.E. Lack, et al.; June 1985
- American Cancer Society; Learn About Cancer; What Is Cancer?; July 2011
