Synonyms
Definition
A malignant germ cell tumor morphologically represented by cells similar to primordial germ cells/gonocytes.
Clinical Features
Incidence
Seminoma comprises 40–50% of all GCTs. About 10% of seminoma patients have a history of criptorchidism and higher proportions have been noted in patients with immunodeficiency disorders.
Age
It occurs commonly between the age of 25–50, with a peak incidence at about 34 years. Seminoma is virtually nonexistent before puberty and it is rare in adolescence (1%) with the exception of children who have a disorder of sex development; seminoma is rare in men older than 70 years (Berney et al. 2008).
Site
Most patients present with a testicular mass, while 3% of seminomas present with symptoms related to metastatic localization as lower back pain caused by retroperitoneal lymphnode involvement. Other lymphnodal metastases could occur to the mediastinal and cervical lymphnodes; visceral metastases typically occur in the liver and...
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References and Further Reading
Berney, D. M., Warren, A. Y., Verma, M., Kudahetti, S., Robson, J. M., Williams, M. W., Neal, D. E., Powles, T., Shamash, J., & Oliver, R. T. (2008). Malignant germ cell tumours in the elderly: A histopathological review of 50 cases in men aged 60 years or over. Modern Pathology, 21(1), 54–59.
Cheville, J. C., Rao, S., Iczkowski, K. A., Lohse, C. M., & Pankratz, V. S. (2000). Cytokeratin expression in seminoma of the human testis. The American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 113(4), 583–588.
Henley, J. D., Young, R. H., Wade, C. L., & Ulbright, T. M. (2004). Seminomas with exclusive intertubular growth: A report of 12 clinically and grossly inconspicuous tumors. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 28(9), 1163–1168.
Ulbright, T. M., & Young, R. H. (2005). Seminoma with tubular, microcystic, and related patterns: A study of 28 cases of unusual morphologic variants that often cause confusion with yolk sac tumor. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 29(4), 500–505.
Ye, H., & Ulbright, T. M. (2012). Difficult differential diagnoses in testicular pathology. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 136(4), 435–446.
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Colecchia, M., Bertolotti, A. (2019). Seminoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3796-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3796-1
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