Prepubertal testicular tumors in China: a 10-year experience with 67 cases

Prepubertal testicular tumors are rare in children. We aim to present clinical and histological features of prepubertal testicular tumors through the analysis of the long-term experiences of a single medical center of China.

A total of 67 children (≤ 14 years) treated for testicular tumor at our institution from 2005 to 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Data relating the clinical characteristics, histopathology findings, serum tumor markers, treatment method, and outcome were collected.

The patients’ median age at diagnosis was 18 months (range 3–168 months), and 49 cases (73.1%) were diagnosed at age younger than 3 years. The most common clinical presentation was a painless scrotal mass or swelling. Regarding histology, 32 (47.8%) were teratomas and only one of these tumors presents immature teratomas, 20 (29.9%) were yolk sac tumors, 9 (13.4%) were epidermoid cyst, 1 (1.5%) was a Leydig cell tumor, 1 (1.5%) was a mixed malignant germ cell tumor, and 4 (8.3%) were paratesticular tumors. For germ cell tumors, the mean preoperative serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) level was significantly higher in patients with yolk sac tumor than in those with teratomas (2,078 ng/mL vs 5.7 ng/mL). Of all these patients, 37 (55.2%) were treated with radical inguinal orchiectomy and testis-sparing surgery was planned and achieved in 30 (44.8%). Surveillance was performed in 60 patients. None of the patients developed recurrence or testicular atrophy after appropriate treatment.

The majority of our cases were benign, with the most common histopathological subtype being teratoma. A testis-sparing procedure should be performed in children with a palpable testicular mass and negative tumor markers. This study shows a better outlook for prepuberty patient with testicular tumors than their adult counterparts.