Mesothelioma of spermatic cord: electron microscopic and histochemical characteristics of its mucopolysaccharides

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma of spermatic cord: electron microscopic and histochemical characteristics of its mucopolysaccharides, by P. Pizzolato, J. Lamberty (Urology, 1976).

The study

• Authors: P. Pizzolato, J. Lamberty
• Journal: Urology
• Published: 1976;8(4):403-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A mesothelioma of the spermatic cord occurred at the site of multiple hernial repairs. The aggressive biologic behavior of this tumor is exhibited by its early lymph node invasion and extensive metastases to the pleural cavities, lungs, and spleen. These tumor cells contained a large amount of stable of stable glycogen-like carbohydrate insoluble in formalin and tolerating postmortem changes. Electron microscopy revealed features similar to those mesotheliomas arising from body cavities.

In plain English

This article was a case report of a malignant mesothelioma of the spermatic cord in a fifty-seven-year-old black man, a former sugar refinery worker, treated at the New Orleans Veterans Administration Hospital from 1969. He had three operations for recurrent inguinal hernia. At the third, a 4 by 2 by 2-cm mass was removed from the cord. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology reported that the findings tended to confirm mesothelioma. Metastatic mesothelioma was later found in lymph nodes, and fluid collected around the lungs. He received cobalt radiation and chemotherapy and died on January 4, 1973. The authors reported spread to the pleural cavities, lungs and spleen. Staining showed a stable glycogen-like carbohydrate in the tumor cells. Electron microscopy showed features similar to mesotheliomas arising in body cavities. The article does not report any asbestos exposure for this patient. The authors considered spread from a tumor elsewhere unlikely and raised the possibility of origin at several sites at once. They suggested that repeated surgical trauma to the cord may have been a factor, and they considered the case unique.

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
• Who was studied: One fifty-seven-year-old black man, a former sugar refinery worker, admitted to the New Orleans Veterans Administration Hospital in June 1969 and followed until his death in January 1973
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure is reported for this patient; asbestos is mentioned only in the introduction, in reference to other studies. The article describes him as a former sugar refinery worker. The authors suggested that trauma from his multiple hernia operations on the spermatic cord may have been a factor.
• Main results:
  • At the third hernia operation, a portion of the spermatic cord containing a 4 by 2 by 2-cm mass was removed
  • The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology report stated that the tumor cells and their staining tended to confirm mesothelioma
  • Biopsied periaortic and iliac lymph nodes showed small foci of metastatic mesothelioma
  • The authors reported early lymph node invasion and extensive metastases to the pleural cavities, lungs and spleen
  • At autopsy the right pleural cavity held 1,400 cc and the left 625 cc of bloody fluid
  • The patient died on January 4, 1973
  • The tumor cells contained a stable glycogen-like carbohydrate that withstood postmortem changes and was insoluble in formalin
  • Electron microscopy showed features similar to mesotheliomas arising from body cavities
• The authors' conclusion: The authors believed their case of malignant mesothelioma arising in the spermatic cord was unique. They considered metastasis from a tumor elsewhere unlikely and raised multifocal origin as a second possibility.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors noted that, for a tumor in a rare site, other possible origins must be ruled out; they discussed whether the tumor arose elsewhere and spread to the cord, or arose at several sites at the same time

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, Spermatic Cord.

Related studies

• Tumors of the spermatic cord: a review of the literature and a report of a case of lymphangioma — A.A. el-Badawi, M.M. al-Ghorab (1965)
• Treatment of malignant tumors of the spermatic cord: a study of 10 cases and a review of the literature — P.H. Blitzer, D.E. Dosoretz, et al. (1981)
• Malignant Mesothelioma of Spermatic Cord in an Elderly Man With a History of Asbestos Exposure — A. D'Antonio, F. Mastella, et al. (2016)
• Carcinosarcoma of the spermatic cord — M. Nistal, F. Burgos, et al. (1990)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the spermatic cord — Y.J. Park, H.J. Kong, et al. (2011)
• Malignant mesotheliomas in spermatic cords: reports of two cases and a brief review of literature — X. Meng, T.J. Guzzo, et al. (2013)

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