Pathology of testicular tumors-Review of 50 cases

The objective of the present study is to investigate the incidence, clinical presentation, morphology of testicular tumors and to access the utility of major tumor markers viz. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) in diagnosis and management of germ cell tumors. Clinical presentation, histological features and HCG, AFP and LDH levels of 50 testicular tumors were analyzed and correlated. Seminoma was the commonest germ cell tumor followed by embryonal carcinoma and teratoma. The commonest age group was 20-39 years. Scrotal swelling was the commonest clinical presentation. Amongst tumor markers, LDH was raised in 46%(n=23) cases. Whereas AFP was raised in 17(34%) cases and HCG was raised in 18(36%) cases. Tumor marker studies in testicular cancer help in diagnosing and planning the treatment of the tumors, however, the diagnosis of testicular cancer cannot be made based on elevated tumor markers alone, as these markers lack sufficient sensitivity and specificity. Diagnosis instead relies on the histopathology examination of the orchiectomy specimen.