Germ Cell Tumor - Classification

Classification

Germ cell tumors are classified by their histology, regardless of location in the body.

Germ cell tumors are broadly divided in two classes:

• The germinomatous or seminomatous germ cell tumors (GGCT, SGCT) include only germinoma and its synonyms dysgerminoma and seminoma.
• The nongerminomatous or nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCT, NSGCT) include all other germ cell tumors, pure and mixed.

The two classes reflect an important clinical difference. Compared to germinomatous tumors, nongerminomatous tumors tend to grow faster, have an earlier mean age at time of diagnosis (~25 years versus ~35 years, in the case of testicular cancers), and have a lower 5 year survival rate. The survival rate for germinomatous tumors is higher in part because these tumors are very sensitive to radiation, and they also respond well to chemotherapy. The prognosis for nongerminomatous tumours has improved dramatically, however, due to the use of platinum-based chemotherapy regimens.