Iannantuono GM, Strigari L, Roselli M, Torino F. A scoping review on the "burned out" or "burnt out" testicular cancer: When a rare phenomenon deserves more attention.
Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2021;
165:103452. [PMID:
34384861 DOI:
10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103452]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The "burned out" or "burnt out" testicular cancer (BTC) indicates the spontaneous and complete regression of a testicular germ cell tumor in the presence of distant metastases at the diagnosis. As this condition was never reviewed systematically, a scoping review was conducted to scrutinize the available literature on clinical and histological features of BTC patients. Medline was searched from inception to 19 April 2020. A virtual cohort of 68 BTC patients was generated. Our findings highlighted some inconsistencies: BTC was diagnosed in 5,9% of patients not showing distant metastases and in 2,9% of patients who did not undergo an orchiectomy. Besides, evidence of residual tumor was found in 22,7% of testis specimens, recognized as seminoma in 40% of cases. The emerged inconsistencies may derive from the lack of an unequivocal definition of BTC. Larger collaborative studies are needed to define the best diagnostic workup and treatment for BTC patients.
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