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Experienced doctors working together may provide the best treatment for
children with extracranial germ cell tumors. Your child’s treatment will often
be coordinated by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in cancer in
children. The pediatric oncologist may refer your child to other specialists,
such as a pediatric surgeon, a psychologist, a radiation oncologist, and other
doctors who specialize in the type of treatment your child requires.
Treatment for extracranial germ cell tumor depends upon the location of the
tumor, the stage of the tumor, and the type of tumor. The types of treatment
used for extracranial germ cell tumor are:
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Surgery (cutting the tumor out of the body)
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Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill tumor cells)
More than one method of treatment may be used, depending on the type of
extracranial germ cell tumor and how much cancer the patient has in his or her
body. Complete or near complete surgical removal of the tumor is often
possible. If the tumor cannot be completely removed, chemotherapy may also be
given.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs may
be taken by mouth or injected into a vein (intravenous) or muscle.
Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the
bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the
body.
Your child may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its
effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or you may choose to
have your child enter a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with
standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than
are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to test new
treatments and to find better ways to treat people with cancer.
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