睾丸畸胎癌(Testicular teratocarcinoma)是少见的人类恶性肿瘤。因它可分化成为良性的以至显然为正常的许多不同类型的组织,为此,无论肿瘤学家或是生物学家都对它进行了广泛的研究。很长的一个时期以来,人们就已认识到畸胎癌中保持了一部分有高度增生性与侵袭性的干细胞群体。这些干细胞与正常未定型的(uncommitted)胚胎细胞在朝着各种生化与形态方面分化的能力极为相 Testicular teratocarcinoma is a rare human malignancy. Because it can differentiate into many different types of tissues that are benign and apparently normal, both oncologists and biologists have studied it extensively. For a long period of time, it has been recognized that there is a population of highly proliferating and invasive stem cells in teratocarcinoma. The ability of these stem cells and normal uncommitted embryonic cells to differentiate in various biochemical and morphological aspects