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Case Reports
. 2024 Jun 12;13(12):3436.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13123436.

Germ Cell Tumor of the Testis: Lethal Subtypes of a Curable Cancer

Jamaal C Jackson  1 , Darren Sanchez  1 , Andrew C Johns  2 , Matthew T Campbell  2 , Ahmet M Aydin  3 , Neriman Gokden  4 , Sanjay Maraboyina  5 , Jason L Muesse  6 , John F Ward  1 , Louis L Pisters  1 , Niki M Zacharias  1 , Charles C Guo  7 , Shi-Ming Tu  8
Affiliations
Case Reports

Germ Cell Tumor of the Testis: Lethal Subtypes of a Curable Cancer

Jamaal C Jackson et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Germ cell tumor of the testis (GCT) is a curable cancer even when it is widely metastatic; however, outcomes can differ based on tumor histology. Chemo-resistance in certain phenotypes, such as teratoma and yolk sac tumor, contributes to poor clinical outcomes in some patients with GCT. Despite this resistance to S-YSTemic therapy, many of these tumor subtypes remain amenable to surgical resection and possible cure. In this study, we report on a series of seven patients highlighting two chemo-resistant subtypes of nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT), sarcomatoid yolk sac tumor (S-YST), and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) for which early resection rather than additional salvage chemotherapy or high-dose intense chemotherapy might provide a superior clinical outcome and enhance cure rate.

Keywords: drug resistance; epithelioid trophoblastic tumor; intratumoral heterogeneity; sarcomatoid yolk sac tumor; somatic transformation; testicular cancer; therapy development.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient S-YST 1 with a new upper mediastinal mass.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patient ETT 3 with residual retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy after frontline chemotherapy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Normalization of beta HCG level after RPLND.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor shows relatively uniform intermediate trophoblast cells with eosinophilic hyaline-like material.
Figure 5
Figure 5
PET scan showing diffuse lung metastases and a right proximal femoral metastasis.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Patient S-YST 2 with bulky calcified lymphadenopathy ((a) transverse and (b) coronal sections).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Sarcomatoid yolk sac tumor with pleomorphic epithelioid and spindle cells, hematoxylin, and eosin stain.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Tumor stained positive for glypican-3, a specific immunohistochemical marker for yolk sac tumor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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