Benign mesotheliomas of testicular appendages: a morphologic and histochemical study of seven cases and review of theories of histogenesis

Our plain-English summary of Benign mesotheliomas of testicular appendages: a morphologic and histochemical study of seven cases and review of theories of histogenesis, by A. Stavrides, J.B. Hutcheson (The Journal of Urology, 1960).

The study

• Authors: A. Stavrides, J.B. Hutcheson
• Journal: The Journal of Urology
• Published: 1960;83:448-53
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 30 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This 1960 article, from the Department of Surgical Pathology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, described seven men with small benign tumors next to the testicle. The authors called these benign mesotheliomas; they are also known as so-called adenomatoid tumors. The article concerns benign tumors and does not mention asbestos or any work exposure. The men were white and aged 33 to 54. Five had a lump in the scrotum with no other symptoms. One had a painless swelling that later became painful for a few days. In one, the tumor was found during hernia surgery. The tumors measured 0.5 to 3.5 cm across, none of the men had a hydrocele, and only one gave a history of local injury. With special stains, the fluid-filled spaces inside the tumor cells did not stain for mucin or glycogen, and the authors reported material they identified as hyaluronic acid. The authors concluded that the tumors most likely arise from leftover mesothelial cells of the urogenital region, and they recommended adequate local removal of the tumor.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Case series of seven patients, with tissue staining (histochemical) studies and a discussion of theories about where these tumors come from
• Who was studied: Seven white men aged 33 to 54 with benign tumors of the testicular appendages, diagnosed at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. The dated cases were admitted between 1941 and 1958.
• Exposure: Not reported. The article does not mention asbestos or any occupational or environmental exposure.
• Main results:
  • Of the 7 cases, five had a palpable scrotal mass without other symptoms. One had a painless swelling present about a year that later caused a few days of pain. In one, the tumor was found incidentally during inguinal hernia repair.
  • Across the 7 cases, tumor size ranged from 0.5 to 3.5 cm in diameter.
  • None of the 7 cases had a hydrocele, and a history of local trauma was obtained from only 1 case.
  • Tumor location: 4 cases in the epididymis (two in the tail, one in the head, one not specified), 1 attached to the tunica vaginalis, 1 at the junction of the epididymis and vas deferens, and 1 at the junction of the upper pole of the testicle and the head of the epididymis.
  • The vacuoles in the tumor cells did not stain positively for mucin or glycogen.
  • Brush borders could not be shown in the cells lining the cystic spaces.
  • After testing with the enzyme hyaluronidase, the authors reported that the stained (metachromatic) material in the vacuoles and stroma was hyaluronic acid. The sentence giving the exact test result is partly lost in the scan.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors considered a mesothelial origin the most acceptable theory. They thought the tumors arise from rests of mesothelial cells of the urogenital region, and that their hyaluronic acid finding added evidence for this. They advocated a conservative approach and adequate local excision.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Histogenesis and classification of mesonephric tumors of the female and male genital system and relationship to benign so-called adenomatoid tumors (mesotheliomas); a comparative histological study — G. Teilum (1954)
• Mesothelioma of the female genital tract; review of the literature and report of five cases involving the uterus — R.C. Horn, G.C. Lewis (1951)
• Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape Province — J.C. Wagner, C.A. Sleggs, et al. (1960)
• Mesothelioma of the pelvic peritoneum resembling papillary cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary; case report — M. Swerdlow (1959)
• Malignant mesothelioma associated with hypoglycemia; report of a case — K.A. Nesbitt, J.T. Boswell, et al. (1958)
• Multiple mesotheliomas of the hydrocele sac: a case report — C.L. Reynolds (1958)

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