CASE REPORTS

Osteosarcoma arising from a cervical teratoma in a 4-year old child: A report of a rare case and literature review

Kenneth Ezenwa Amaefule¹, Friday Samuel Ejagwulu¹, Talib Talib Sholadoye², Waziri Garba Dahiru³

¹Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
²Department of Surgery, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
³ Department of Histopathology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Kenneth Ezenwa Amaefule
Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria Nigeria

Source of Support: None
Conflict of Interest: None

Cervical teratomas consist of about 3% of all teratomas, and commonly present in childhood. They are often benign and very rarely turn malignant. Malignant transformation of teratomas occurs in about 3% - 6% of such tumours, and often results in carcinomas, and infrequently, sarcomas and yolk sac tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 80% - 90% of such malignant transformation. Osteosarcoma arising from a teratoma is a rare occurrence with the very few reported cases occurring in the ovaries, and no such transformation has been reported in a cervical teratoma. We present our experience with a child with osteosarcoma in a cervical teratoma.