Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Tumor de células germinales del ovario
Ovarian germ cell tumor (oh-VAYR-ee-un jerm sel TOO-mer)
An abnormal mass of tissue that forms in germ (egg) cells in the ovary (female reproductive gland in which the eggs are formed). These tumors usually occur in teenage girls or young women, usually affect just one ovary, and can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). The most common ovarian germ cell tumor is called dysgerminoma.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.