# Sertoli cell tumour of the testis

Source: https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/  
OnCo record `sertoli-cell-tumour` (Cancer). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Sertoli cell tumour is a rare testicular tumour arising from the cells that support sperm production. Most are benign and cured by removing the testis; about one in ten spread, and there is no good treatment for those. A calcifying form occurs in boys with Peutz-Jeghers or Carney syndromes, usually with breast enlargement.

## Summary

Sertoli cell tumours are sex cord-stromal tumours of the testis; the WHO classification separates the not otherwise specified type from the large cell calcifying and the intratubular large cell hyalinising types (Moch 2016). In the series of 60 tumours not otherwise specified, presentation was usually a slowly enlarging painless mass, all were unilateral, size ranged from 0.3 to 15 cm (mean 3.6), nuclear atypia was absent or mild in 54, and four patients had metastases at presentation (Young 1998). Exon 3 mutations of CTNNB1 with nuclear beta-catenin were found in 10 of 14 tumours, linking the tumour to WNT pathway activation (Am J Surg Pathol 2014). In boys, intratubular Sertoli cell proliferations and large cell calcifying tumours occur with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and gynaecomastia (Am J Surg Pathol 2001).

How it differs from its parent: like Leydig cell tumours it is not a germ cell tumour, does not respond to cisplatin chemotherapy, does not raise the germ cell markers and is usually benign; malignancy is judged from size over 5 cm, necrosis, vascular invasion, atypia and mitoses.

How common: no incidence figure in the sources read.

Treatment: orchidectomy (testis-sparing in syndromic boys with bilateral tumours); retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for malignant features; no effective systemic therapy for metastatic disease.

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Sertoli cell tumour; Sertoli cell tumor; Sertoli cell tumour, not otherwise specified; Large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumour; Androblastoma of the testis
- Tags: subtype-page; wave4; testicular; rare
- Group: genitourinary
- Burden: Rare: the defining series holds 60 tumours not otherwise specified, patient age 15 to 80 (mean 45), four with metastatic disease at presentation (Young 1998). No registry figure was found in the sources read.
- Biomarkers: Inhibin, calretinin and nuclear beta-catenin; germ cell markers negative; CTNNB1 exon 3 mutation; Size, necrosis, vascular invasion, atypia and mitotic count (malignancy risk); Peutz-Jeghers or Carney syndrome features in boys

## Sections of this record

The page is a hub with ten sections in reading order; large sections have their own page. The same plan as JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/sections.json

- Overview (on the hub): The TL;DR, the family this cancer belongs to, the organ, who gets it and what the state of the art is. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#overview
- What it is (on the hub): Anatomy, the subtypes and how they differ, how it is staged, and where advanced disease spreads. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#what-it-is
- Finding it (on the hub): How it shows itself, how it is confirmed, what screening exists, and the biomarkers clinicians test for. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#finding-it [4 biomarkers]
- Treating it (on the hub): The standard of care by setting, the medicines, surgery and radiotherapy named in it, and the regimens behind them. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#treating-it [1 setting]
- Evidence (on the hub): Trials recruiting now, the landmark trials, the key papers and what they mean, the latest literature, and the milestones year by year. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#evidence
- The science (on the hub): The molecular landscape: the targets and how often each appears, the pathways, the mechanics stages and the preclinical models. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#science
- Where you are (own page): Cases by country, the UK and NHS pathway and other country lenses, and the expert centres with trials on record. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/where-you-are/
- Living with it (on the hub): The decisions you may face, the aids that walk through them, the warnings on record, the first sixty days and the questions to ask. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/#living-with-it [6 questions]
- What is coming (own page): Everything in development, the open problems and what is being done about them, the roadmaps, and what changed on this record. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/coming/
- Data (own page): Every connected record, the notes, the JSON, Markdown and RDF twins, and where the record came from and when it was checked. https://onco.cc/cancers/sertoli-cell-tumour/data/

## Standard of care

- All cases: Orchidectomy, testis-sparing in syndromic boys; node dissection for malignant features; no effective systemic therapy for metastatic disease. ([Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/))

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sertoli_cell_tumour
- NCI PDQ: testicular cancer treatment: https://www.cancer.gov/types/testicular/treatment
- Moch 2016, European Urology: the 2016 WHO classification of urinary and male genital tumours, part A: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2016.02.029
- Young 1998, Am J Surg Pathol: Sertoli cell tumours of the testis, not otherwise specified, 60 cases: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000478-199806000-00008
- Am J Surg Pathol 2014: frequent CTNNB1 mutation and nuclear beta-catenin in Sertoli cell tumours of the testis: https://doi.org/10.1097/pas.0b013e31829cdbc6
- Am J Surg Pathol 2001: intratubular Sertoli cell proliferations of the infantile testis in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000478-200110000-00003

## Connected records

- cancers: [Adult granulosa cell tumour of the ovary](https://onco.cc/cancers/granulosa-cell-tumour/), [Childhood cancers (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/childhood-cancers/), [Leydig cell tumour of the testis](https://onco.cc/cancers/leydig-cell-tumour/), [Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/sertoli-cell-tumour.json