Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Intracrarial Germ Cell Tumors

Abstract

  Germ cell tumors, which occur predominantly in adolescents and young adults, are composed of various histological types. It is difficult to establish standard treatments because the roles of resection, radiation, and chemotherapy differ with each histological subtype. To date, clinical trials have been conducted in Japan, Europe, and North America, and various diagnostic methods, classifications for proper treatment, and treatment modalities have been established and developed. In parallel with this situation, a consensus regarding their diagnosis and treatment was established by the Delphi method in 2013 by multidisciplinary experts, and the areas that became the consensus and the areas to be discussed became clear to some extent. Based on these circumstances and the current situation, this review outlines problems and recent new findings regarding the diagnosis and treatment of germinomas and nongerminomatous germ cell tumors.