Tumor Markers in Testicular Cancer

Acute presentation of choriocarcinoma: a case study and review of the literature

We report an unusual case of a 27-year-old male with an acute presentation of choriocarcinoma. The patient presented with unstable vital signs, severe anemia and a widened arterial pulse pressure following a several day history of testicular pain. He was subsequently diagnosed as having testicular choriocarcinoma with multiple hepatic metastases and large hemorrhagic para-aortic lymph nodes. The widened pulse pressure persisted during fluid resuscitation and correction of both the anemia and hypotension, and only narrowed after the initiation of chemotherapy. A literature review indicates that metastatic testicular choriocarcinoma is a rare but aggressive malignancy that often presents with acute symptoms and signs that cause patients to seek emergency care. We summarize the reported cases of "acute" testicular choriocarcinoma presentation and briefly discuss its relationship to widened arterial pulse pressure.

Trends in incidence and results of treatment of testicular germ cell tumours in Finland 1972-1983

A nationwide series of 422 patients with testicular germ cell cancer diagnosed in Finland in 1972-1983 was analysed. The age-adjusted incidence rate, although very low (1.6 per 10(5) male population per year), has increased compared to that in previous decades. The 3-year survival rate has improved markedly and was during the last part of the period high in patients with local (stage I) and regional (stages IIA-B) disease (100% for seminoma and over 90% for non-seminoma patients) but still fairly poor in advanced stages (stages IIC-IV) (58% for seminoma and 26% for non-seminoma patients). The improvement of the survival rate was most marked in non-seminoma patients below the median age (28.5 years). Cisplatin based chemotherapy was one of the major reasons for the improved prognosis, not only in non-seminoma patients but also in those with seminoma. There was no trend with time concerning the stage distribution of the disease. On the basis of relapse rates in stage I non-seminoma and seminoma patients staged surgically and clinically respectively, accuracy of clinical staging but not of surgical staging seemed to have improved. During the early period surgically staged stage I-II non-seminoma patients had a slightly better prognosis than clinical stage I-II patients but a similar difference was not observed during the cisplatin era.

Tissue alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotrophin in non-seminomatous testicular tumours. A comparative study with serum levels

The correlation between tissue localisation and serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) was studied in 20 tissue samples from 18 patients with non-seminomatous testicular tumours. Specific immunoperoxidase stains were used for tissue staining and serum measurements were made by radioimmunoassay. There was a close correlation between the tissue demonstration of AFP and HCG and elevated levels of serum markers. The cellular localisations of AFP and HCG were different and no cell stained concomitantly for both AFP and HCG. From these results and from the demonstration of tumour markers in the tissue of some patients with normal serum marker levels, it was concluded that immunocytochemical localisation of the tumour markers was more sensitive than serum measurements.

Tumor markers: value and limitations in the management of cancer patients

Sixteen tumor markers are reviewed, and measured to the ideal: produced by the tumor cell alone absent in health and in benign disease present in all patients with a given malignancy level in the blood representative of tumor mass detectable in occult disease. The only marker that approaches the ideal is human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in gestational trophoblastic tumors. In this malignancy, the HCG level suggests the diagnosis and stage, confirms response to therapy, and predicts relapse. The three most widely used and intensely studied tumor markers are carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), alphafetoprotein (AFP), and HCG. CEA cannot be used in screening for cancer, but in carcinoma of the colon its elevation preoperatively increases the likelihood of advanced disease and postoperative recurrence. Postoperatively, elevated titers are often but not invariably associated with recurrent disease. AFP and HCG are useful in the management of nonseminomatous germ cell testicular tumors. Like CEA, they cannot be used for screening. They are more likely to be increased with advancing stage, and after therapy rising levels almost always mean recurrent disease. Some markers are valuable in specific circumstances, such as calcitonin in screening for familial medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. In multiple myeloma, immunoglobulins are useful in determining the tumor mass and response to therapy. In neuroblastoma, catecholamine metabolites are useful primarily in making the diagnosis. In some malignancies, the absence of effective therapy lowers the value of the marker, as for AFP in hepatoma. The remaining markers are too unreliable or too little studied to be useful in the management of an individual patient with cancer. The purpose of this paper is to provide the clinician with an understanding of the limitations of the present tumor markers that will lead to wiser use of the tests, and to provide standards to which future tumor markers should be measured.

Testicular tumors: oncologic imaging and diagnosis

The extreme radiosensitivity of testicular seminomas plus recent advances in chemotherapy for nonseminomatous tumors and for advanced seminomas have made long term survival possible in the large majority of patients with testis cancer. Since choice of therapy is determined by tumor histology and extent of disease, accurate clinical staging is critical. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and chest is the imaging procedure of choice for staging testis cancer. Clinical staging accuracy of 80 to 90% can be achieved using CT in combination with radioimmunoassays for beta-HCG and AFP. Ultrasonography (US), while less sensitive and specific than CT for determining nodal status, may be useful in thin patients with sparse retroperitoneal fat; in addition US may play an important role in detecting occult testicular neoplasms and in assessing primary tumor extent within the scrotum. Lymphangiography should be reserved for Stage I patients in whom elective treatment of the retroperitoneum is not planned. Follow-up should include serial radioimmunoassays for serum AFP and beta-HCG and periodic CT examinations of the abdomen and chest. Technical improvements in CT scanners and further experience with the use of tumor markers should help refine our ability to stage and manage patients with testicular tumors. In addition, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and radionuclide imaging following injection of radioactively labelled antibodies to AFP and beta-HCG are new techniques which offer great promise for the future.