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Testicular and paratesticular involvement by metastatic neuroblastoma
Author(s) -
Simon Thorsten,
Hero Barbara,
Berthold Frank
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(20000601)88:11<2636::aid-cncr28>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - medicine , neuroblastoma , disease , stage (stratigraphy) , orchiectomy , testicular cancer , metastasis , cancer , pediatrics , surgery , paleontology , genetics , biology , cell culture
BACKGROUND Testicular and paratesticular involvement is a less familiar feature in neuroblastoma and its prognostic impact is unclear. METHODS The records of 1076 male patients in the German cooperative neuroblastoma treatment trials were searched for patients with testicular or paratesticular involvement. RESULTS The authors found 11 children with paratesticular or testicular involvement at the time of manifestation of the disease, 3 children with testicular involvement at the time of relapse, and 1 infant with testicular involvement at the time of progression of neuroblastoma from International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) Stage 4S to Stage 4. In de novo disease, the age of manifestation did not exceed 12 months. Two children had paratesticular involvement per continuitatem by growth of a primary tumor through the inguinal channel. All others had distant primary tumor. Prognosis appeared more favorable for infants (3 of 9 died) than for older children (5 of 6 died), for children with involvement of testes and < 10% involvement of bone marrow (2 of 8 died) than for children with other distant metastasis (6 of 7 died), and for children with intrascrotal involvement at first diagnosis (4 of 11 died) than for children with intrascrotal involvement during relapse of the disease (all 4 children died). CONCLUSIONS Paratesticular or testicular metastasis does not per se indicate unfavorable outcome and is compatible with INSS Stage 4S in infants. The age at diagnosis and the time of manifestation during disease contributed to the prognosis in those patients. Cancer 2000;88:2636–41. © 2000 American Cancer Society.