A Case of Immature Teratoma of the Ovary with Gliomatosis Peritonei

Immature teratoma is composed of varying quantities of immature differentiating among anyone or all three germ layer. The pure immature teratoma accounts for fewer than 1% of all ovarian cancer, but it is the second most common germ cell malignancy. About 50% of pure immature teratomas of the ovary occur in women between the ages of 10 and 20 years, and they rarely occur in postmenopausal women. The most frequent site of dissemination is the peritoneum, and much less commonly, the retroperitoneal lymph node. Among the tumors with embryonal elements, those containing neural tissues demonstrate most clearly the importance of the ability to mature. Gliomatosis peritonei is the most dramatic demonstration of the significance of maturation, because most patients with these tumors have survived, even with this disseminated disease. The purpose of this paper is to report on a immature ovarian teratoma with predominantly mature glial tissues in peritoneum which we have experienced in this hospital recently with brief review of the literature.