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Testicular germ cell tumor
Make it clearer
When a cancer appears in the testicle, it is most likely a germ cell tumor, a tumor of the cells that sperm are made from. Hence the name: testicular germ cell tumor. And the first step, in order to plan treatment, is to put it in one of two boxes: seminoma or nonseminoma. This is not a paperwork distinction; each box has its own prognostic and treatment algorithms, that is, its own decision pathways.
Under the microscope, these tumors have five histopathologic subtypes, five recognizable tissue patterns: seminoma, embryonal carcinoma, teratoma, yolk sac tumor, and choriocarcinoma. The rule that sorts them into the two boxes is strict. If the tumor is 100 percent seminoma, it is a seminoma. Everything else counts as nonseminoma, and that includes the mixed tumors, the ones with a seminoma component blended with something that is not seminoma.
Reading the tissue is not just a detail for the chart. The tumor's cell type is what makes it possible to estimate two specific things: the risk of metastasis, meaning spread of the tumor to other parts of the body, and how well it will respond to chemotherapy.
In brief
Most testicular cancers are germ cell tumors, and for treatment planning they are divided into seminomas and nonseminomas, because they have different prognostic and treatment algorithms.
They have five histopathologic subtypes: seminoma, embryonal carcinoma, teratoma, yolk sac tumor, and choriocarcinoma. A tumor that is 100 percent seminoma counts as a seminoma; everything else, including mixed tumors, counts as nonseminoma.
The cell type matters for estimating the risk of metastasis and the response to chemotherapy.
Sources (1)
- National Cancer InstituteTesticular Cancer Treatment (PDQ), Health Professional VersionPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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