A non-catecholamine-producing sympathetic paraganglioma of the spermatic cord: the importance of performing candidate gene mutation analysis

Silent pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: Systematic review and proposed definitions for standardized terminology

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors with heterogeneous clinical presentations and potential lethal outcomes. The diagnosis is based on clinical suspicion, biochemical testing, imaging and histopathological confirmation. Increasingly widespread use of imaging studies and surveillance of patients at risk of PPGL due to a hereditary background or a previous tumor is leading to the diagnosis of these tumors at an early stage. This has resulted in an increasing use of the term "silent" PPGL. This term and other variants are now commonly found in the literature without any clear or unified definition. Among the various terms, "clinically silent" is often used to describe the lack of signs and symptoms associated with catecholamine excess. Confusion arises when these and other terms are used to define the tumors according to their ability to synthesize and/or release catecholamines in relation to biochemical test results. In such cases the term "silent" and other variants are often inappropriately and misleadingly used. In the present analysis we provide an overview of the literature and propose standardized terminology in an attempt at harmonization to facilitate scientific communication.

Paraganglioma of the spermatic cord: report of one case and review of literature

Extra-adrenal paraganglioma is rare, and occurs in the retroperitoneum, and head and neck. The incidence rate of paraganglioma in urogenital system is very low, especially in the spermatic cord. A case of paraganglioma of spermatic cord is reported and relevant literature is reviewed. A spermatic cord mass was found in the right scrotum in a middle-aged man 2 years ago, without hormone symptoms. Understanding of clinical and intraoperative frozen pathology was inadequate. Ultrasound images showed that there was abundant blood supply around the right spermatic cord with clear boundaries. The conventional pathology of the tumor presented a typical histologic morphology of paraganglioma. Immunohistochemistry showed that chief tumor cells were CGA (+), syn (+), CD56 (+), SDHB (+), and sertoli cells were S-100 (strong+). There are few reported cases at present, and the etiology and pathogenesis are not clear yet. The rapid frozen pathologic diagnosis during operation is very challenging, and it is easily diagnosed by routine histology combined with immunohistochemistry. Gene detection is recommended if necessary. Early diagnosis is helpful to the choice of operation mode and the prevention and control of intraoperative risk.

Paraganglioma of the Spermatic Cord With Spinal Metastasis: A Case Report

A 40-year-old male with presented to the clinic with the chief complaint of right inguinal pain radiating to his right testicle and right thigh with no history of trauma, fever, chills, dysuria, hematuria, or unprotected sexual activity. Physical exam revealed right testicular tenderness with no palpable abnormality of the bilateral testes or spermatic cords. Scrotal ultrasound was performed and was unremarkable for testicular or other intrascrotal pathology. Concurrently, chronic low back pain had prompted a lumbar CT to be performed, which was indeterminate, but subsequent lumbar MRI performed three months later revealed abnormal signals in the vertebral bodies of T12, L3, and L5, concerning for occult metastatic disease or multiple myeloma. PET-CT was performed revealing hypermetabolic lesions throughout the axial skeleton and, most notably, hypermetabolic lesions in the left inguinal and left upper scrotum. At this time, about 4 months after the original visit, physical exam revealed a palpable mobile mass in the left upper scrotum that was distinct from the left testicle, and another mass palpable near the left inguinal ring.

Paratesticular Paraganglioma

Paratesticular paragangliomas are a rare occurrence. We present the case of a 43-year-old man who presented with paresthesia and paraparesis and was found to have pathologic fracture involving D1 vertebra as a manifestation of metastasis from a nonsecretory right paratesticular paraganglioma.

Paraganglioma of the spermatic cord: A case report and literature review

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A paraganglioma, or an extra-adrenal catecholamine-producing tumor, is a clinically significant neuroendocrine tumor with an incidence of 3–8 cases per million population.

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The majority of paragangliomas, 85–90%, occur in the adrenal glands and 98% are found in the abdomen.

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Unlike pheochromocytomas, where only 10% are malignant, paragangliomas carry a 40–50% malignancy rare, and their development is part of a hereditary syndrome in 30% of cases.

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The most common hereditary syndromes associated with paragangliomas are von Hipple-Lindau (VHL), multiple endocrine neoplasia 2 (MEN 2) and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

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Herein we describe and review the 13th paraganglioma documented arising from the spermatic cord.

Introduction

Neuroendocrine tumors are a diverse and well-described entity with most arising from the gastrointestinal tract. A clinically significant example is the paraganglioma, or an extra-adrenal catecholamine-producing tumor.

Presentation of case

Herein we describe and review a paraganglioma arising from the spermatic cord in a 55 year old asymptomatic man.

Discussion

Paragangliomas are rare, with an incidence of 3–8 cases per million population. To date there are only 12 cases found in the literature.

Conclusion

In this article, we review our patient’s presentation, follow-up, and screening followed by a review of the literature of this fascinating tumor. Although rare, paraganglioma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unusual groin masses. This work has been reported in line with the SCARE criteria (Agha et al., 2018).

Paratesticular Paraganglioma with Metastasis to D1 Vertebra- A Case Report and Review of Literature

INTRODUCTION

Paragangliomas are relatively rare tumors, accounting for only about 0.3% of all neoplasms. Most paragangliomas are defined as benign in nature, but 10-% possess metastatic potential. There have been scattered reports of metastatic paraganglioma in the literature, but in rare circumstances, paragangliomas can metastasize to the spinal column causing destruction or compression of the spinal cord, clinically manifesting as pain or neurological deficit.

CASE REPORT

We present a case of a 43-year-old man who presented with paresthesia and paraparesis and was found to have pathologic fracture involving D1 vertebra as a manifestation of metastasis from a non-secretory right paratesticular paraganglioma.

CONCLUSIONS

We will review the literature on the topic of metastatic paraganglioma, management of paragangliomas involving spine, and touch on the importance of angioembolization, staged procedures, and a team approach.

Paragangliomas: update on differential diagnostic considerations, composite tumors, and recent genetic developments

Recent developments in molecular genetics have expanded the spectrum of disorders associated with pheochromocytomas (PCCs) and extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGLs) and have increased the roles of pathologists in helping to guide patient care. At least 30% of these tumors are now known to be hereditary, and germline mutations of at least 10 genes are known to cause the tumors to develop. Genotype-phenotype correlations have been identified, including differences in tumor distribution, catecholamine production, and risk of metastasis, and types of tumors not previously associated with PCC/PGL are now considered in the spectrum of hereditary disease. Important new findings are that mutations of succinate dehydrogenase genes SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, and SDHAF2 (collectively "SDHx") are responsible for a large percentage of hereditary PCC/PGL and that SDHB mutations are strongly correlated with extra-adrenal tumor location, metastasis, and poor prognosis. Further, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and renal tumors are now associated with SDHx mutations. A PCC or PGL caused by any of the hereditary susceptibility genes can present as a solitary, apparently sporadic, tumor, and substantial numbers of patients presenting with apparently sporadic tumors harbor occult germline mutations of susceptibility genes. Current roles of pathologists are differential diagnosis of primary tumors and metastases, identification of clues to occult hereditary disease, and triaging of patients for optimal genetic testing by immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissue for the loss of SDHB and SDHA protein. Diagnostic pitfalls are posed by morphological variants of PCC/PGL, unusual anatomic sites of occurrence, and coexisting neuroendocrine tumors of other types in some hereditary syndromes. These pitfalls can be avoided by judicious use of appropriate immunohistochemical stains. Aside from loss of staining for SDHB, criteria for predicting risk of metastasis are still controversial, and "malignancy" is diagnosed only after metastases have occurred. All PCCs/PGLs are considered to pose some risk of metastasis, and long-term follow-up is advised.