Types of Ovarian Tumors: Choriocarcinoma

00:01 Here we have choriocarcinoma.

00:04 Choriocarcinoma.

00:05 That prefix sounds an awful lot like placenta.

00:09 However, why are you here? Ovaries or maybe perhaps in a male, the testicles.

00:17 How is it that you get placenta here? Well, understand, this is a tumor of placenta-like tissue.

00:24 So what we will do is divide our gestational and non-gestational type of choriocarcinoma.

00:29 This obviously will be non-gestational type.

00:32 But yet, here’s an ovarian tumor or perhaps a testicular tumor that behaves like your cyst or your trophoblast, "In what respect, Dr. Raj?" Watch, watch, watch, watch.

00:41 In pregnancy, what’s the name of that hormone that you’re going to test for? Beta hCG.

00:47 So therefore, in choriocarcinoma, you’re going to be looking for beta hCG.

00:52 And yolk sac tumor, what are you looking for, that marker? Alpha fetoprotein, right? Now, with choriocarcinoma, you usually find this in combination with other germ cell tumors.

01:03 Maybe something like endodermal sinus, yolk sac or maybe perhaps a teratoma.

01:08 Important here.

01:09 Usually widely metastatic and by the time of diagnosis, that makes this really dangerous.

01:15 And on histologic appearance or examination, you find there to be placenta-like tissue.