Medullary bone in male budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) with testicular neoplasms

Medullary bone is a calcium-rich, labile bone normally occurring in female birds with each egg-laying cycle. The stimulus for formation of medullary bone is, in part, the cyclic increase in serum estrogens produced by preovulatory ovarian follicles. Increased bone density due to formation of medullary bone, particularly in pneumatic bones, has been termed polyostotic hyperostosis, even if physiologic. This study investigated the formation of medullary bone in nonpneumatic (femur) and pneumatic (humerus) bones in sexually mature male budgerigars submitted for autopsy. Of the 21 sexually mature male budgerigars submitted for autopsy, 7 (33%) had medullary bone in 1 or more bones examined. All 7 male budgerigars with medullary bone had a testicular neoplasm, which was morphologically consistent with a testicular sustentacular cell tumor, seminoma, or interstitial cell tumor. Medullary bone was not present in the 14 cases with other diseases. Medullary bone formation in pneumatic and nonpneumatic bones can occur in male budgerigars with testicular neoplasms. Radiographic increases in medullary bone density, particularly in the humerus, could provide antemortem indication of testicular neoplasia in male budgerigars.

The key application of serum tumor markers in testicular cancer: a review and update

Testicular neoplasm is the most common solid tumor in male. The recent advancement in the medical field has made it possible to become one of the most highly treatable neoplasms. Testicular neoplasm is mainly classified into two main groups: non-seminomatous germ cell tumor and seminomatous germ cell tumor. In this review article, we analyzed the current role of serum biomarkers in diagnosis, prognosis, staging, measurement of response to therapy and early detection of relapse of testicular neoplasm. The commonly used tumor markers are alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), beta-human chorionic gonadotrophins and lactate dehydrogenase. Apart from them, a new set of tumor biomarkers like placental­like alkaline phosphatase, gamma­glutamyltranspeptidase, miRNA, mitochondrial DNA and serum trace elements are also proven to be potentially helpful in the management of testicular neoplasm. Progressive elevation of serum tumor markers often indicates the presence of testicular cancer and aids in histological classifications. According to an additional category, the rate of elevation of respective biomarkers is advantageous to appropriately stage testicular neoplasm (S) in the tumor nodes metastases (TNM) staging classification. Besides, it is found that higher elevation of serum tumor markers is associated with a poorer prognosis. Post-treatment assessment where there is a rate of reduction of serum tumour biomarkers suggests the effectiveness of initial management of testicular neoplasm.

The potential role of MR based radiomic biomarkers in the characterization of focal testicular lesions

How to differentiate with MRI-based techniques testicular germ (TGCTs) and testicular non-germ cell tumors (TNGCTs) is still under debate and Radiomics may be the turning key. Our purpose is to investigate the performance of MRI-based Radiomics signatures for the preoperative prediction of testicular neoplasm histology. The aim is twofold: (i), differentiating TGCTs and TNGCTs status and (ii) differentiating seminomas (SGCTs) from non-seminomatous (NSGCTs). Forty-two patients with pathology-proven testicular neoplasms and referred for pre-treatment MRI, were retrospectively enrolled. Thirty-two out of 44 lesions were TGCTs. Twelve out of 44 were TNGCTs or other histologies. Two radiologists segmented the volume of interest on T2-weighted images. Approximately 500 imaging features were extracted. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) was applied as method for variable selection. A linear model and a linear support vector machine (SVM) were trained with selected features to assess discrimination scores for the two endpoints. LASSO identified 3 features that were employed to build fivefold validated linear discriminant and linear SVM classifiers for the TGCT-TNGCT endpoint giving an overall accuracy of 89%. Four features were employed to build another SVM for the SGCT-SNGCT endpoint with an overall accuracy of 86%. The data obtained proved that T2-weighted-based Radiomics is a promising tool in the diagnostic workup of testicular neoplasms by discriminating germ cell from non-gem cell tumors, and seminomas from non-seminomas.

Primary pure angiosarcoma of the testis: a vanishingly rare malignancy. Case report and literature review

Background Primary pure angiosarcoma of the testis is an exceptionally rare testicular malignancy, which is poorly understood. We present the fifth and youngest case in the current medical literature. Additionally, all cases of angiosarcoma of the testicle, both occurring with associated germ cell tumour and without, were compared in an extended tabular format. Case presentation A 56-year old man presented with unilateral scrotal pain, swelling and erythema. Ultrasonography revealed two testicular lesions with a high suspicion of malignancy but serum tumour markers were negative. A radical orchidectomy was performed with clear surgical margins. Diagnosis of primary pure angiosarcoma of the testis was confirmed on subsequent histopathology. Conclusions Primary pure angiosarcoma is a rare testicular neoplasm. We present the fifth case in the literature. Clinical and radiological features are non-specific. The diagnosis is purely histological, with the pathologist choosing immunohistochemistry based on abnormal morphology. Local invasiveness is variable but metastatic sites are typical for extra-gonadal angiosarcomas. Primary pure testicular angiosarcoma diagnosis confers a relatively better prognosis compared to angiosarcoma arising in the context of a testicular germ cell tumour. While extra-gonadal angiosarcomas are associated with high rates of local recurrence following resection, in all cases of testicular angiosarcoma there were no local recurrences following radical orchidectomy. Surgical resection remains the most effective treatment for both subtypes of testicular angiosarcoma.

Testicular tumors in 190 dogs: clinical, macroscopic and histopathological aspects

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to characterize the prevalence and clinical, macroscopic and histopathological aspects of dogs affected by testicular tumors based on biopsy specimens from the Laboratório de Patologia Veterinária of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (LPV-UFSM) over 19 years. Parameters regarding the age, size, and breed of the affected dogs were also established. Of all dogs with some type of neoplasm submitted to histopathological analysis at the LPV over these 19 years (n=1,900), 213 (11.2%) had at least one testicular neoplasm. The tissues of 190 dogs (with 220 neoplasms) were available for histological reassessment. The dogs in this study had different types of testicular tumors with relatively similar frequencies. In descending order, the most frequent testicular neoplasms were seminomas (88/220), Leydig (interstitial) cell tumor (LCT; 64/220), Sertoli cell tumor (SCT; 61/220), and mixed germ cell-sex cord stromal tumor (MGSCT) (07/220). Among the dogs of defined breed (119 cases), large breeds had the largest number of cases (50/119), followed by small (47/119) and medium-sized (22/119) breeds. The ages of dogs affected by testicular tumors ranged from 10 months to 18 years. Increased testicular volume was the most common clinical manifestation. Eleven dogs presented information about clinical signs suggestive of hyperestrogenism syndrome (feminization). In seminomas, the diffuse pattern predominated over the intratubular pattern. Two sites (luminal and basal compartments) suggestive of the onset of neoplastic transformations in germ cells were observed in intratubular seminomas. They corroborate the hypothesis that canine seminomas possibly have pathogenesis similar to that observed in human spermatocytic seminomas. The SCTs and LCTs presented high cell morphology variation. SCTs had neoplastic cells organized in five different histological arrangements. As for LCT, solid-diffuse and cystic-vascular histological patterns were the most commonly observed. Through this study, it was possible to establish some of the leading clinical, macroscopic, and histopathological aspects of testicular neoplasms diagnosed over 19 years in the area covered by the LPV-UFSM.

Epidemiology and treatment outcomes of testicular germ cell tumor at tertiary care center in Patna, India: A retrospective analysis

Background: Malignant testicular neoplasm constitutes about 1% of all cancers in male, but malignant germ cell tumors are most common tumors in adolescents and young adult males. In this study we report our experience of testicular germ cell tumors presenting at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, a tertiary referral centre, with respect to epidemiology, histopathology, management and outcome. Methods: This study was conducted in department of Radiotherapy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna from August 2014 to September 2019. It was single institution based retrospective study in which data was retrieved from the recorded files & analysed. The study focused on epidemiology and survival outcomes. Results: In this study we analysed, 38 histologically confirmed cases of testicular germ cell tumor. Seminoma and nonseminoma were 50% (19) and 50% (19) respectively. The median age was 31 years. The most common affected age group was 31 to 40 years. Metastasis was present in 50% of patients at presentation. At diagnosis the stage III, II and I were found in 50%, 28.9% and 21.1% respectively. Patients in good risk, intermediate risk and high risk were in 65.8%, 13.2% and 21.1% respectively. The median recurrence free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was 52 months and 71 months respectively. Conclusion: Most of the cases presented with advanced stage and majority of them had undergone high inguinal orchidectomy. The high nodal burden disease at presentation was associated with partial response to standard chemotherapy. It seems that there is the need of alternative chemotherapy regimen especially in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. Patients presenting with disease confined to locoregional lymph nodes or local disease showed good prognosis.