Risk of second malignant neoplasms in women and girls with germ cell tumors.

Background: While an elevated risk of second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) has been observed in men treated for germ cell tumors (GCTs), risk of SMNs have not been quantified in adult women or in girls treated for GCTs.

Patients and methods: One-year survivors of primary GCTs diagnosed between January 1980 and December 2012 were identified from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER 9) registries. Risk of SMNs was calculated using SEER*Stat.

Results: Among 1507 patients, a total of 47 SMNs were identified. The overall risk of SMNs was not elevated in females overall or in females treated for GCT during adulthood although SMN sites (pancreas, soft tissue, bladder, kidney, and thyroid) and trends were comparable with those in men. There were too few childhood GCT cases with SMNs for further analysis.

Conclusions: Unlike men, women treated for GCTs did not have a statistically significant elevated risk of SMNs [standardized incidence ratio = 1.11; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.81-1.47]. The fact that SMNs in women occur in sites similar to those observed in men indicate that long-term follow-up of a larger cohort of females treated for GCT is warranted.