1/2. A subfertile patient diagnosed with testicular carcinoma in situ by immunocytological staining for AP-2gamma in semen samples: case report.The incidence of testicular cancer is rising. Despite a high cure rate, efforts should be made to obtain diagnosis at the pre-invasive intratubular carcinoma in situ (CIS) stage, as the disease is potentially lethal and treatment has severe side-effects, especially regarding reproductive function. CIS diagnosis is presently only possible by a surgical biopsy of the testis. Immunocytological staining for transcription factor activator protein (AP-2gamma), previously identified as a marker for neoplastic germ cells, was performed in centrifuged samples of ejaculates obtained from 104 andrological patients, including patients with testicular cancer and subfertility. Cells positive for AP-2gamma were found only in semen samples from patients diagnosed a priori with testicular neoplasms and, surprisingly, in a 23 year old control subject with oligozoospermia and no symptoms of a germ cell tumour. Testicular biopsies performed during the follow-up of this patient revealed widespread CIS in one testicle, thus proving a potential diagnostic value of the new marker. For the first time, a patient without clinical symptoms of testicular neoplasia was diagnosed at the pre-invasive CIS stage using a new, simple method based on immunocytological staining of a semen sample for AP-2gamma, a novel marker for CIS. The value of this method for diagnostic use in the clinic requires further careful validation in a large series of patients and controls, but the preliminary results are promising.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = cell tumour (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Large-cell calcifying sertoli cell tumor of the testis. An ultrastructural, immunocytochemical, and biochemical study.This report describes the ultrastructural and hormonal characteristics of the recently described large-cell calcifying sertoli cell tumor of the testis, a rare subtype of pure sertoli cell tumor. The ultrastructural findings showed similarity to normal sertoli cells, pure Sertoli cell tumors, sertoli cells in azoospermic human testes, and the Sertoli cell component of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors. Ultrastructure indicated features common to steroid-producing cells. testosterone and estradiol were demonstrated in the tumor by immunocytochemical and biochemical methods.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5749.1654938491keywords = sertoli cell, sertoli (Clic here for more details about this article) |