Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology, Chapter 25. Testicular and Paratesticular Tumors in the Pediatric Age Group.
Testicular tumors in the prepubertal age are relatively rare, representing only 9.4% of the total testicular and paratesticular specimens from a 20-year review performed at a large pediatric hospital [ 1 ]. They account for 1% to 2% of all solid tumors in the pediatric age group, with an annual incidence between 0.5/100 000 and 2/100 000 boys according to Coppes et al [ 2 ] and data from the Prepubertal Testicular Tumor Registry [ 3 ]. Similar to other neoplasms afflicting children, a bimodal age distribution is observed. The first peak is between birth and 3 years of age, and a second one occurs at the onset of puberty, extending to the fourth decade. Reports on their frequency vary because some investigators include the adolescent period, while others do not [ 4 ]. The vast majority of testicular tumors are germ cell neoplasms, accounting for 95% across all ages [ 5 ]. In children, germ cell tumors also predominate, representing 71% of all testicular neoplasms. These include yolk sac tumors (49%), teratomas (13%), seminomas and mixed germ cell tumors (9%), and sex-cord stromal tumors (29%). Malignant potential is significantly lower (less than 70%) in the pediatric age group compared to adults (90%) [ 6 ]. According to Pohl et al, 74% of prepubertal testicular tumors are benign [ 7 ].
1 Department of Pathology, Hospital La Paz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28029, Spain.
Manuel
M
Nistal
2 Department of Cell Biology, Universidad de Alcala, Madrid, Spain.
Ricardo
R
Paniagua
1 Department of Pathology, Hospital La Paz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28029, Spain.
Pilar
P
González-Peramato
3 Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
Miguel
M
Reyes-Múgica
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*
germ cell tumor; paratesticular tumor; sex cord-stromal tumor; teratoma; testicular tumor; yolk sac tumor