What Is It?

Extragonadal germ cell tumors are made up of cells that form during the early development of a fetus (unborn baby). In a growing fetus, germ cells typically move from a site near the middle of the body to the ovaries or testes (gonads). There they develop into eggs in females and sperm in males.

When cells that are meant to form sperm or eggs travel to other parts of the body instead, they can form tumors outside the gonads. That's why they are often called extragonadal germ cell tumors. They usually begin in the lungs, the lower back, the back of the abdomen, or the middle of the brain, near the pea-sized pineal gland.