Testicular maldescent is the most common endocrine gland abnormality, as 2.7% of mature neonates are cryptorchid. The significant complications are that there is a disturbance of normal maturation which results in diminished fertility and there is an increase in the malignant potential which is 35 times greater in the undescended than the descended testis. It is considered that genetic influences may be of etiological importance and recurrence has been described in some families. It is of interest, that the case reported here has 2 siblings who have also presented with cryptorchidism and malignant tumors.The propositus is 14 years old. He is well developed (described by some as obese) and shows normal secondary male characteristics except for an immature scrotum. Laparotomy showed both testes to be intraabdominal. A hard nodule (0.5cm) was palpated on the medial aspect of the left testis. Frozen section showed the presence of seminoma and bilateral orchiectomy was performed.
Inter-individual variability and genetic influences on cytokine responses to bacteria and fungi