Ovarian nondysgerminomatous germ cell tumors in childhood and adolescence in Israel: Comparison of survival between two periods

During a 25 year period, 40 patients ≤19 years old with ovarian nondysgerminomatous germ cell malignancies were diagnosed throughouts Israel- 15 during the early (1970-1979)and 25 during the late (1980-994) study period. No difference between the periods was found with regard to distribution of tumor type, age and stage at diagnosis, and type of initial operation. The five-year survival of patients diagnosed during the late period was significantly longer than during the early period (79.8% vs 53.3%, respectively; P = 0.05). This improved survival can most probably be attributed to the significantly higher percentage of patients who received platin-based combination chemotherapy during the late period. Most of the patients had fertility-sparing surgery and subsequently, among the 22 surviving patients older than 18 years, eight were married at the last date of follow-up, and six of those delivered 11 infants. None of the patients developed leukemia. The rarity of ovarian nondysgerminomatous malignancies should prompt centralization of management for obtaining optimal outcome.