Congenital juvenile granulosa cell tumour of the testis: report of a case showing extensive degenerative changes

Our plain-English summary of Congenital juvenile granulosa cell tumour of the testis: report of a case showing extensive degenerative changes, by J.K. Chan, V.S. Chan, K.L. Mak (Histopathology, 1990).

The study

• Authors: J.K. Chan, V.S. Chan, K.L. Mak
• Journal: Histopathology
• Published: 1990;17(1):75-80
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 22 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Juvenile granulosa cell tumour is a rare neoplasm of the testis which occurs predominantly in infancy and which may be associated with sex chromosomal abnormalities. We report an unusual case with deceptive histological features resulting from extensive degenerative changes. In the pedunculated intra-abdominal mass resected from a 1-month-old male baby with 45,X/46,X,iso(Yq) mosaicism, there were multiple large cystic spaces devoid of cellular lining or lined by flat nondescript cells, mimicking various cystic lesions such as multicystic mesothelioma, cystic lymphangioma and cystic dysplasia. The cysts were separated by a highly vascularized fibrous stroma. Only in very rare cysts and the smaller cysts in the region of the pedicle were granulosa cells identified, permitting a diagnosis of juvenile granulosa cell tumour to be made.

In plain English

This article was a case report of one male infant in Hong Kong with a rare testicular tumour, a juvenile granulosa cell tumour, arising in an undescended testis inside the abdomen. The article did not study asbestos or any asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma appeared only as a disease that this tumour resembled under the microscope. The infant was born with hypospadias, an undescended right testis and fluid in the abdomen. Chromosome analysis of blood cells showed 45,X/46,X,iso(Yq) mosaicism. At 1 month old, the infant had surgery to remove a multicystic mass measuring 5 x 3 x 3 cm, attached to a 6 cm long stalk. Under the microscope most cysts had no lining or only flat cells, a pattern resembling cystic lymphangioma or multicystic mesothelioma. Tumour (granulosa) cells were found only in a few large cysts and in smaller cysts near the stalk. The authors attributed the extensive degeneration to twisting (torsion) of the tumour on its long stalk, which made its true nature hard to recognize. A later biopsy of the left testis showed normal findings.

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 report (one patient)
• Who was studied: One small-for-date male infant, born at full term, with 45,X/46,X,iso(Yq) mosaicism, treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong; tumour removed at age 1 month
• Main results:
  • The removed multicystic tumour measured 5 x 3 x 3 cm and was attached to a 6 cm long pedicle (stalk)
  • Most cysts had no lining cells or were lined only by thin flat cells
  • This flat-lined pattern resembled cystic lymphangioma or multicystic mesothelioma
  • Granulosa cells were found only partially lining a few large cysts and lining smaller cysts in the region of the pedicle
  • The flat cells lining the large cysts stained positive for vimentin but negative for cytokeratin and factor VIII
  • A left testicular biopsy taken at age 2 years 4 months showed normal findings
• The authors' conclusion: The authors attributed the tumour's extensive degeneration to torsion on its long stalk. In their view, this made its true nature difficult to recognize and produced a pattern simulating a variety of multicystic lesions.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Neoplasm, Multicystic Mesothelioma (MCM).

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• Metastatic tumours in the testis — A.J. Tiltman (1979)
• Extremely rare tumour--malignant mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis — T. Jankovichova, M. Jankovich, et al. (2015)
• Malignant papillary mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testes: cutaneous metastases showing pagetoid epidermal invasion — L.E. Cartwright, H.K. Steinman (1987)
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: report of 2 cases with asbestos occupational exposure — G. Gorini, M. Pinelli, et al. (2005)

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