Morphological pattern of testicular tumors.

OBJECTIVE To find out the mode of presentation, age distribution and the prevalence of various histological subtypes of testicular tumors. METHOD All consecutive cases of testicular tumors diagnosed in the department of pathology, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, during the period of eight years (1991-98) were included in this study. Relevant clinical details such as age, clinical presentation and side of involvement of the testis were also recorded, where available. RESULTS During the span of eight years (1991-98), 170 cases of testicular tumors were diagnosed at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Most of the tumors were diagnosed in the third and fourth decade of life. Scrotal mass or swelling was the predominant mode of presentation. There was a slight predominance of right-sided testicular tumors. Germ cell tumors constituted 83.5% of all malignant testicular neoplasms. Amongst these seminoma was the most common (36.5%) tumor followed by mixed germ cell tumors (28.82%). Yolk-sac tumor was the commonest testicular neoplasm in children while lymphoma was the predominant neoplasm in the elderly population. CONCLUSION The overall relative frequency of testicular malignancy in this series correlated with that reported in the international literature.