Yolk sac tumours of the orbit and sinonasal tract
Reviewed by Hetvi Bhatt

This paper outlines two case reports of patients with yolk sac tumours (YSTs) and carries out a review of the literature on this rare malignancy. YSTs are a type of germ cell tumour and primarily occur in the gonads. Ten to fifteen percent of cases are extragonadal, favouring midline structures, with six percent arising from the head and neck region. Patient 1 presented with proptosis and patient 2 presented with epistaxis and squint. As mentioned in the discussion, this variability in presentation is reflected in other published case reports. In both cases, tissue diagnosis was obtained, and triple agent chemotherapy was used as the mainstay treatment. Serum AFP is a useful tumour marker with 90% sensitivity and can also be used to monitor treatment response. The article highlights the varying presentation of a rare tumour and the importance of blood tests and immunohistochemistry in getting a diagnosis.

Yolk sac tumours of the orbit and sinonasal tract.
Burns MJ, Zheng L, Dalla-Pozza L, et al.
ORBIT
2022;41(6):680-6.