Home Forums General Surgery SEMINOMA TESTIS – FINAL MBBS REVISION

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      Anonymous
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      TESTICULAR TUMOR CLASSIFICATION

      GCT TESTIS/ SEMINOMA OVERVIEW
      • Seminoma and non-seminomatous tumors come under germ cell tumors
      • The overall incidence of testicular germ cell tumors is only 1% to 2% of all cancers in men; however, it is the most common malignancy in males between 15-45 years
      • Testicular cancer is ten times more common in northern European ancestry and five times more common in Caucasians compared to races.
      • They are highly responsive to chemotherapy in comparison to the other testicular cancers
      • Seminoma accounts for about one third of all testicular germ tumors and highly treatable with a survival rate of 98% to 99% if diagnosed early
      • Subtypes of seminoma include classic seminoma (95% cases) occurring in men 45 years or older and spermatocytic seminoma occurring in older men and having excellent prognosis

      ETIOLOGY & RISK FACTORS OF SEMINOMA
      • Risk of seminoma increases with age
      • Most recent theory suggests that environmental endocrine disrupters exert estrogenic and/or anti-androgenic effects, resulting in arrested development of the gonadal cells
      • Seminoma probably starts as carcinoma in situ during intrauterine growth phase. A widely accepted hypothesis is Testicular Dysgenesis syndrome (TDS).
      • TDS includes hypospadias, cryptorchism, germ cell tumors, and impaired spermatogenesis due to reports that all these conditions share common risk factors starting as early as the fetal stage.
      • Approximately 10% of all patients with germ cell tumors report history of cryptorchism.
      • Aircraft maintenance personnel, farmers and firefighters exposed to organochloride pesticides seem to have a higher risk of developing testicular cancer.

      SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF SEMINOMA
      • The most common presentation is an asymptomatic painless testicular mass, although presence of pain doesn’t exclude diagnosis of seminoma
      • Since testicular cancers occur can reduce spermatogenesis, infertility may be the presenting symptom in some cases
      • Serious, acute pain may occur with rapid tumor growth, associated with hemorrhage or infarction (if the tumor outgrows its blood supply)
      • Physical examination usually reveals unilateral, firm to hard palpable scrotal mass which is localized to the testis.
      • Bulky retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy can produce an abdominal mass. Lung metastases can present as cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath
      • The diagnosis is confirmed by imaging, typically with an ultrasound test initially

      DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
      • Non-seminomatous germ cell tumors
      • Testicular dermoid cyst
      • Testicular secondaries from other primary
      • Trauma

      DIAGNOSIS
      IMAGING TESTS
      • The initial evaluation is by testicular ultrasound. Several studies have reported that non-palpable, asymptomatic masses that are 2 cm or lesser in size are more likely to be benign tumors. Benign lesions may include testicular cysts or tiny Leydig cell or Sertoli cell tumors.
      • X-ray chest is advised to rule out lung metastasis
      • A CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis performed to stage the disease and to demonstrate abdominal or retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy
      • PET scanning is generally done as part of the initial workup but is useful to assess response to treatment

      STAGING OF TESTICULAR CANCER
      • Stage 0 – Cancer that is within testis and confined within epithelium (testicular intraepithelial neoplasia)
      • Stage 1 – Tumor confined to testis
      1A – Localized to testis without lymphovascular invasion
      1B Localized to testis with associated lymphovascular invasion
      • Stage 2 – regional spread to retroperitoneal lymph nodes
      • Stage 3 – Distant spread to lungs, brain or lymph nodes of chest and neck

      BLOOD TESTS
      • Several laboratory values are done to assess and follow-up tumor burden. These include beta human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha fetoprotein, and LDH. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) elevation indicates at least some non-seminomatous disease and those patients are then treated as non-seminomatous GCT patients.
      • Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is present in 5% to 10% of seminoma cases and tend to be associated with metastatic disease but levels have no prognostic value or impact on overall survival rates
      • Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are measured to assess and follow-up tumor bulk post treatment.

      TREATMENT OF SEMINOMA TESTIS
      Treatment of testicular seminoma depends on the stage of the disease but surgery, a radical orchiectomy (removal of testis), is almost always the primary intervention.

      TESTICULAR EPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA
      • Radiation therapy
      • Follow-up
      • Orchiectomy

      STAGE I SEMINOMA
      • Orchiectomy followed by surveillance.
      • Patients who opt for active treatment rather than surveillance, the treatment consists of surgery to remove the testis, followed by chemotherapy

      STAGE II SEMINOMA
      ? When the tumor measures 5 centimeters or lesser in size:
      ? Orchiectomy, followed by radiation to lymph nodes in the abdomen and pelvis.
      ? Combination chemotherapy.
      ? Surgery to remove the testicle and lymph nodes in the abdomen.

      ? When the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters:
      ? Orchiectomy, followed by radiation to lymph nodes in abdomen and pelvis or combination chemotherapy with long-term follow-up.

      STAGE III SEMINOMA
      • Radical orchiectomy followed by combination chemotherapy. If there are tumors remaining after chemotherapy, following modalities can be considered
      • PET surveillance with no treatment unless tumors grow
      • Surveillance if tumor measures less than 3 centimeters and surgical removal of tumors larger than 3 centimeters.
      • A PET scan two months after chemotherapy and surgery to remove tumors that appear on the scan.
      • A clinical trial of chemotherapy

      PROGNOSIS
      The overall survival rate is greater than 95%. If diagnosed early, when the cancer is confined to the testicle, the survival rate is 99%. If the cancer has spread to regional lymph nodes the survival rate is 96% and even in the presence of distant metastases the survival rate is more than 70%.”

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