Journal of Medical Case Reports (Jul 2009)

Burned-out testicular tumor with retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis: a case report

  • Kontos Stylianos,
  • Doumanis Grigorios,
  • Karagianni Maria,
  • Politis Vasilios,
  • Simaioforidis Vasileios,
  • Kachrilas Stefanos,
  • Koritsiadis Sotirios

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4076/1752-1947-3-8705
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 1
p. 8705

Abstract

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Abstract Introduction A burned-out seminoma of the testis is an exceptionally rare clinical entity, with few reports found in the literature. Case presentation A case of burned-out tumor of the testis in a 31-year-old man is reported. The tumor presented as a retroperitoneal mass with histological characteristic of a seminoma. The testes on clinical examination were normal, and a suspicious lesion in the scrotum was only identified after ultrasound. Incision of the abdominal mass was decided, followed by orchectomy. Histological examination of the testis revealed a suspicious lesion with characteristics of spontaneous regression of germ cell tumors. Conclusion We describe one of very few cases worldwide, where spontaneous regression of a primary testicular tumor occurred after demonstration of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, a phenomenon known as burned-out seminoma, which is hard to recognize and incompletely characterized by physicians.