BACKGROUND The origin of extragonadal retroperitoneal germ cell tumors remains controversial. Whether they develop primarily in the retroperitoneum or whether they are metastases of a primary testicular tumor has long been debated. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 26 patients treated as having primary extragonadal retroperitoneal germ cell tumors based upon the findings of tes...

Understanding the mechanisms that regulate germ-cell development is crucial to reproductive medicine and animal production. Animal gametes originally derive from sexually undifferentiated primordial germ cells (PGCs), which develop into mitotic germ cells (oogonia or spermatogonia) before proceeding to meiosis [Wylie, C. (1999) Cell 96, 165-174]. Spermatogonia are thought to include a populatio...

Alterations of C-Kit and Bcl-2 have been shown to play important roles in many types of human cancers. Although there are emerging studies of C-Kit in testicular cancer biology, the significance of Bcl-2 in testicular neoplasms has not been well understood. We studied C-Kit and Bcl-2 expressions by immunohistochemistry in 18 testicular cancers including 8 seminomas, 7 mixed germ cell tumors, 1 ...

Testicular germ cell tumors (GCT) are the commonest solid tumors in young men. Typical presentation is with painless scrotal swelling; however, symptoms related to complications or metastasis may be the initial presentation. Gastrointestinal (GI) metastasis is seen in about 5% of patients with germ cell tumors and presentation is commonly with GI bleed. It is important to have GCT as a differen...

Background: Between 2% and 5% of malignant germ-cell tumors in men arise at extragonadal sites. Of extragonadal germ cell tumors, testicular carcinoma in situ (CIS) are present in 31-42% of cases, and CIS are reported to have low sensitivity to chemotherapy in spite of the various morphology and to have a high likelihood of developing into testicular tumors. A testicular biopsy may thus be high...

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PURPOSE Transcription factor activator protein-2gamma (TFAP2C, AP-2gamma) was reported previously in extraembryonic ectoderm and breast carcinomas but not in the testis. In our recent gene expression study we detected AP-2gamma in carcinoma in situ testis (CIS, or intratubular germ cell neoplasia), precursor of testicular germ cell tumors. In this study we aimed to investigate the expression pa...

“Burned out” testicular germ cell tumors are rare, representing involuted primary tumors typically discovered during workup for metastatic disease with associated elevated serum tumor markers. Histologically, a hyalinized scar is seen, often with surrounding intratubular germ cell neoplasia. We report a 24 year-old man who presented with a two-month history of cough, dyspnea, and intermittent t...

We provide updated estimates of survival, incidence, complete prevalence, and proportion cured for patients with testicular/paratesticular and extragonadal germ cell cancers in Europe, grouped according to the new list of cancer types developed by RARECARE. We collected data, archived in European cancer registries, with vital status information available to 31st December 2003. We analysed 26,00...

BACKGROUND In view of the high cure rates in patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), increasing clinical importance is attached to protection of fertility. Long-term infertility due to cytostatic therapy may be expected in more than 50% of the patients at a cumulative dose of cisplatin > 0.6 g/m2. The standard procedure for fertility protection in cancer patients includes cryopreserva...