Metastatic tumours in the testis

Our plain-English summary of Metastatic tumours in the testis, by A.J. Tiltman (Histopathology, 1979).

The study

• Author: A.J. Tiltman
• Journal: Histopathology
• Published: 1979;3(1):31-7
• Cited by: 58 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In a prospective autopsy study of male subjects with solic malignant neoplasms, six were shown to have metastatic deposits within the testis (2.5%). These were metastases from carcinoma of the prostate (two cases), melanoma (two cases), bronchial carcinoma (one case) and pleural mesothelioma (one case). In addition, four of 29 leukaemic patients and six of 28 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed testicular involvement. The metastases from the solid tumours presented in solitary nodules, as multiple nodules or as a diffuse involvement. Microscopically, these were represented by tumour cells within the interstitial tissue without involvement of the seminiferous tubules; interstitial tissue and tubular involvement, and tumour confined to the seminiferous tubules respectively.

In plain English

This autopsy study from the University of Cape Town looked at how often cancers spread to the testis. During the five years 1973 to 1977, 1279 of 2271 complete autopsies were of males, and 328 of these men had malignant tumours. Both testes were examined in each case. Leukaemias, lymphomas, myelomas and Kaposi sarcoma were analysed separately from carcinomas and sarcomas. Of the 248 carcinomas and sarcomas, six (reported as 2.5%) had spread to the testis: two prostate carcinomas, two melanomas, one bronchial (lung) carcinoma and one pleural mesothelioma. The mesothelioma deposit was a single nodule 2.5 cm across. The author described this case as unusual and explained it only by spread through the bloodstream. The testis was also involved in 4 of 29 men with leukaemia and 6 of 28 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Of 63 lung cancers that had spread through the blood, one reached the testis while 36 reached the adrenal glands. The author concluded that this difference suggests local factors are more important, but said those factors are unknown. The article does not mention asbestos.

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: prospective autopsy study (pathology series)
• Who was studied: Males with a malignant tumour who came to autopsy at the University of Cape Town Department of Pathology, South Africa, 1973-1977. This was 328 men with malignancies out of 1279 male autopsies, from 2271 complete autopsies in total. Their 335 tumours were divided into group I (leukaemias, lymphomas, myelomas, Kaposi sarcoma; 77 cases) and group II (carcinomas and sarcomas; 248 tumours). Ten gliomas were excluded.
• Exposure: Not an exposure study. The article examines how cancers spread to the testis and does not mention asbestos or any fiber exposure.
• Main results:
  • Among the 248 group II tumours (carcinomas and sarcomas), six had metastases in the testis, reported as 2.5%: carcinoma of the prostate (two), melanoma (two), bronchial carcinoma (one) and pleural mesothelioma (one).
  • Group II, made up of the carcinomas and sarcomas, totalled 248 tumours.
  • The metastasis from the pleural mesothelioma was a single nodule 2.5 cm in diameter within the body of the testis.
  • The author described the pleural mesothelioma case as unusual. Peritoneal mesothelioma may be associated with tumour in the tunica vaginalis, but the author said this case could only be explained by spread through the bloodstream.
  • Testicular involvement was found in 4 of 29 patients with leukaemia and 6 of 28 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
  • Among 63 lung carcinomas that had spread through the blood, one had testicular metastases and 36 had adrenal involvement.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the difference between adrenal and testicular involvement suggests local factors are more important. The author also said the local factors behind the low rate of testicular metastases are unknown.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • In one prostatic carcinoma case where the tumour had spread inside the testicular ducts, the vas deferens was not examined.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Autopsy, Neoplasm, Carcinoma, Pleural Mesothelioma, Interstitial, Tubule.

Related studies

• Congenital juvenile granulosa cell tumour of the testis: report of a case showing extensive degenerative changes — J.K. Chan, V.S. Chan, et al. (1990)
• Extremely rare tumour--malignant mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis — T. Jankovichova, M. Jankovich, et al. (2015)
• Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma following radiotherapy for seminoma of the testis — R.J. Stock, Y.S. Fu, et al. (1979)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: report of first case with preoperative diagnosis — L. Japko, A.A. Horta, et al. (1982)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis — K. Antman, S. Cohen, et al. (1984)
• Epidemiology of mesothelioma of the pericardium and tunica vaginalis testis — G. Mezei, E.T. Chang, et al. (2017)

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