Mesothelioma of the testicle in a child

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma of the testicle in a child, by N. Stein, D. Henkes (The Journal of Urology, 1986).

The study

• Authors: N. Stein, D. Henkes
• Journal: The Journal of Urology
• Published: 1986;135(4):794
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A case of paratesticular mesothelioma in a child is presented. This is a rare benign tumor in childhood.

In plain English

This was a case report of one child: a 7-year-old boy with a mesothelioma beside the testicle (paratesticular mesothelioma), reported by authors from Wichita Falls, Texas. He was first seen at age 6 with swelling of the left side of the scrotum. Three months later he had a large fluid collection (hydrocele), and the testicle could not be felt. At surgery a month later the testicle was firm and nodular. A frozen section suggested a germ cell tumor, and the left testicle was removed. The tumor arose from the tunica vaginalis, the lining around the testicle. It encased the testicle without involving it and extended only slightly into the epididymis. Under the microscope it was mostly papillary, without pleomorphism or anaplasia. Seven months after surgery the boy was well with no local recurrence. The authors found only two other childhood cases in the literature. They concluded that, because mesotheliomas are locally invasive and do not metastasize, removing the testicle should be curative. The article does not mention asbestos or any other exposure.

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 (single patient), with a brief literature review in the discussion
• Who was studied: One 7-year-old boy. The authors were from the Department of Urology, Wichita Falls Clinic, and Pathology, Bethania Hospital, Wichita Falls, Texas. No dates of care are given.
• Exposure: Not reported. The article does not mention asbestos or any other exposure.
• Main results:
  • The boy was first seen at age 6 with swelling of the left hemiscrotum. At that time the spermatic cord was minimally full and the left testicle was normal.
  • Three months later he had a large left hydrocele and the testicle could not be felt.
  • At surgery a frozen section suggested a germ cell tumor, and a left radical orchiectomy (removal of the testicle) was performed.
  • The tumor arose from the tunica vaginalis and encased the testicle. The testicle itself was not involved, and there was only minor extension into the epididymis.
  • Under the microscope the tumor was mainly papillary, with no cellular pleomorphism or anaplasia. More solid areas could have been confused with a germ cell tumor.
  • At follow-up 7 months after surgery the patient was well, with no recurrent local disease.
  • The authors' literature review found only 2 other cases involving paratesticular tissue in children: a newborn and a 10-year-old boy. The 10-year-old also had a hydrocele.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors described paratesticular mesothelioma as a rare benign tumor in childhood. They said it should be considered in any abnormal-appearing hydrocele. They concluded that, because mesotheliomas are locally invasive and do not metastasize, orchiectomy should be curative and further metastatic evaluation and treatment would not be justified.

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, Testicular Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Harlequin testicle and other uncommon pathologies masquerading at routine scrotal ultrasound — J.R. Medverd, L. Peguero, et al. (2015)
• Epidemiology of mesothelioma of the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis — G. Mezei, E.T. Chang, et al. (2017)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: diagnostic studies and differential diagnosis — S.S. Chekol, C.C. Sun (2012)
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis: a series of eight cases with uncertain malignant potential — F. Brimo, P.B. Illei, et al. (2010)
• Well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of 18 cases with additional observation — X. Chen, W. Sheng, et al. (2013)
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis — K.J. Butnor, E.N. Pavlisko, et al. (2019)

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