Jornal de Citologia e Histologia

Background: The usefulness of IHC markers in the differential diagnosis of germ cell tumors has been recognized for decades. Germ cell neoplasms can show a bewildering array of appearances, and there may be significant morphologic overlap among subtypes. For this reason, Immuno-histochemistry is often performed to assist in accurately assessing the types and extent of germ cell elements present within a tumor. The different IHC markers used in this study included include a) alpha - fetoprotein (AFP), b) the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin c) cytokeratin, d) S-100 protein e) CD30 f) GFAP. g) CD117 h) PLAP. The main objectives of the study were to observe the IHC staining patterns of both gonadal and extragonadal GCTs.

Methods: The study was conducted for a period of 5 years from 2015 to 2019 and was an observational study. The recorded data was compiled and entered in a spreadsheet and then exported to data editor of SPSS Version 20.0. Graphically the data was presented by bar and pie diagrams.

Results: A total of 93 cases were analyzed. IHC was consistent with the histomorphological variants, with YSTs being consistently positive for AFP. Seminoma/Dysgerminoma for CD117/PLAP. Embryonic Carcinomas were seen mostly as mixed component with CD30 cytoplasmic positivity. Mature Cystic Teratomas, the most common histological variant showed frequent GFAP & S100 positivity. Cytokeratin was positive in all cases.

Conclusion: IHC helped in confirming the morphological diagnosis and also showed the extent of a component in a MGCT