Adult metastatic yolk sac tumor descending from an intra-abdominal testis: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Abstract. Pure yolk sac tumors are extremely rare in adults; to the best of our knowledge, <20 cases have been reported. Multiple metastases originating from a pure yolk sac testicular tumor, descending from an intra-abdominal testis, are additionally extremely rare. In the present case, a man exhibiting a 30-year history of cryptorchidism and indirect inguinal hernia, was admitted to the Department of Urology (The Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, China) due to a mass that had descended from the abdominal cavity 7 months previously. Elevated levels of specific serum marker (α-fetoprotein, lactate dehydrogenase and human chorionic gonadotropin ) did not indicate potential testicular germ cell types prior to surgery and pathological examination. Pathological results and immunohistochemistry revealed a testicular pure yolk sac tumor subsequent to surgery. The present case report and literature review describes the typical characteristics of an adult testicular yolk sac tumor, as well as the diagnosis and management of the disease.

Pure yolk sac tumor of testis with lung metastasis in an adult patient - case report

“…Talerman et al did not found a single case of pure YST amongst 147 germ cell neoplasms of testis in adults which they observed over a 4½-year period [ 5 ]. Wang et al in their case report and literature review published in 2015 mentioned that less than 20 cases of pure yolk sac tumor in adults have been reported [ 3 ]. To the best of our efforts, we could find four more reported cases in literature published in English between 2015 and 2019.…”

“…Pure YST of the testis in an adult is extremely rare [ 3 ]. In adults it exhibits a more aggressive behavior with a high frequency of metastasis compared to childhood YST [ 4 ].…”