Intracranial germinomas in a father and his son

Background

Primary intracranial germ cell tumors (IGCTs) represent an uncommon category of neoplasms, and familial occurrence is rare. We present the first report of parent-child patients with pathologically confirmed pure germinomas.

Case report

A 36-year-old Japanese man presented with diabetes insipidus and hypopituitarism. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass lesion in the pituitary stalk, which was diagnosed as a pure germinoma by open craniotomy tumor biopsy. Seven years later, his 13-year-old son also presented with diabetes insipidus. MRI revealed mass lesions in the pituitary stalk and the pineal region. He underwent endoscopic tumor biopsy for the pineal lesion, which was diagnosed as a pure germinoma. Both the father and his son were treated with combined radiochemotherapeutic regimens and achieved complete remission after one to two cycles of chemotherapy.

Conclusion

Although there have been three previous case reports of familial germinoma, all of these involved sibling pairs. The present report represents the first parent-child cases. This type of familial occurrence suggests the possibility that germline mutations may also be involved in the development of IGCTs.