We went for a followup from the surgery on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. We got the staples removed and the results of the biopsy of the testicle that was removed. The cancer is stage 3 (there are 3 stages in testicular cancer) nonseminoma germ cell tumors. In testicular cancer there is seminoma and nonseminoma. Seminoma is somewhat easier to treat and more comment. The urologist got us an appointment with an oncologist for that Friday at 7:15 am.
Here is some information on seminoma and nonseminoma cancer.
Seminomas
Seminomas develop from the sperm-producing germ cells of the testicle. The 2 main subtypes of these tumors are classical (or typical) seminomas and spermatocytic seminomas. Doctors can tell them apart by how they look under the microscope. More than 95% of seminomas are classical. These usually occur in men when they are between their late 30s and early 50s.
Spermatocytic seminoma tends to occur in older men. The average age of men diagnosed with spermatocytic seminoma is about 55, which is 10 to 15 years older than the average age of men with classical seminomas. Spermatocytic tumors tend to grow more slowly and are less likely to spread to other parts of the body than classical seminomas.
Nonseminomas
This type of germ cell tumor usually occurs in men between their late teens and early 40s. There are 4 main types of nonseminoma tumors: embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, and teratoma. Most tumors are mixed with at least 2 different types, but this does not change treatment. All nonseminoma germ cell cancers are treated the same way.
* Embryonal carcinoma: This type of nonseminoma germ cell cancer is present in about 40% of testicular tumors. Pure embryonal carcinomas occur only 3% to 4% of the time. When seen under a microscope, these tumors can look like tissues of very early embryos. This type of nonseminoma tends to grow rapidly and spread outside the testicle.
* Yolk sac carcinomas: These are so named because their cells look like the yolk sac of an early human embryo. Other names for this cancer include endodermal sinus tumors, infantile embryonal carcinoma, or orchidoblastoma. Yolk sac carcinoma is the most common form of testicular cancer in children. When they occur in children, these tumors usually are treated successfully. When yolk sac tumors develop in adults, however, they are of more concern, especially if they are “pure” (that is, the tumor does not contain other types of nonseminoma cells). Yolk sac carcinomas respond very well to chemotherapy, even if they have spread. This type of tumor releases a protein into the bloodstream known as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The presence of AFP helps confirm the diagnosis and is used to track the patient’s response to treatment.
* Choriocarcinomas: This is a very rare and aggressive type of testicular cancer that occurs in adults. Such cancers are likely to spread rapidly to distant organs of the body, including the lungs, bone, and brain. Pure choriocarcinoma does not often occur in the testicles. More often, choriocarcinoma cells are present with other types of nonseminoma cells in a mixed germ cell tumor. This type of tumor produces a protein, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which can be used to confirm diagnosis and to track the patient’s response to treatment..
* Teratomas: Teratomas are germ cell tumors with areas that, when seen under the microscope, look like each of the 3 layers of a developing embryo: the endoderm (innermost layer), mesoderm (middle layer), and ectoderm (outer layer). The 3 main types of these tumors are the mature teratoma, immature teratoma, and teratoma with malignant transformation.
*Josh has a mixed germ cell tumor which is made up on embryonal carcinoma, mature teratoma, yolk sac tumor, and immature teratoma*
This post was posted on Tuesday June 10, 2008 at 9:04AM
