# Spermatocytic tumour of the testis

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

## TL;DR

Spermatocytic tumour, once called spermatocytic seminoma, is a rare testicular germ cell tumour of older men that arises from maturing sperm precursors rather than from the fetal germ cells behind ordinary testicular cancer. It almost never spreads, so removing the testis is the whole treatment and no chemotherapy or radiotherapy is needed.

## Summary

The 2016 WHO classification renamed spermatocytic seminoma as spermatocytic tumour and placed it among the germ cell tumours unrelated to germ cell neoplasia in situ, because it derives from postpubertal spermatogonia rather than from the arrested fetal germ cells that give rise to seminoma and non-seminoma (Moch 2016). Marker studies identified two types characterised by OCT2 or SSX2-4 expression, corresponding to distinct spermatogonial subpopulations, supporting a spermatogonial stem cell origin (Journal of Pathology 2011). In the Australian registry study it made up 1.1 percent of seminomas, with a mean age of 53.5 but a range from 19 to 92, occurring as often under 55 as over (Journal of Urology 2007).

How it differs from its parent: it lacks isochromosome 12p and germ cell neoplasia in situ, is not associated with cryptorchidism or the other risk factors of testicular cancer, does not raise the serum markers, and metastasises almost never except in the rare sarcomatous transformation, so the surveillance and chemotherapy pathways of seminoma do not apply.

How common: 0.4 per million men a year (Journal of Urology 2007).

Treatment: radical orchidectomy alone, with no adjuvant therapy and no routine retroperitoneal imaging beyond a baseline scan; the rare tumour with sarcomatous transformation is treated as a sarcoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Spermatocytic seminoma; Spermatocytic tumour (older men, indolent); Spermatocytic tumour (older men, almost never metastasises); Spermatocytic tumor
- Tags: subtype-page; wave4; testicular; rare
- Group: genitourinary
- Burden: 58 of 9,658 primary malignant testicular tumours in Australia over 1982 to 2002, 1.1 percent of all seminomas, an age-standardised incidence of 0.4 per million men a year; age 19 to 92, mean 53.5 (Journal of Urology 2007).
- Biomarkers: OCT2 or SSX2-4 expression; OCT4 negative (unlike seminoma); No isochromosome 12p; Normal alpha-fetoprotein and beta-hCG; Sarcomatous component (the only malignant course)

## 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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-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/spermatocytic-tumour/data/ [1 connected records]

## Standard of care

- All cases: Radical orchidectomy alone; no adjuvant therapy. ([Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/), [Seminoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/seminoma/))

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermatocytic_tumor
- 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
- Journal of Urology 2007: population-based incidence and age distribution of spermatocytic seminoma: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2007.03.024
- Journal of Pathology 2011: OCT2, SSX and SAGE1 reveal the spermatogonial origin of spermatocytic seminoma: https://doi.org/10.1002/path.2919

## Connected records

- cancers: [Germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS)](https://onco.cc/cancers/germ-cell-neoplasia-in-situ/), [Leydig cell tumour of the testis](https://onco.cc/cancers/leydig-cell-tumour/), [Seminoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/seminoma/), [Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/)
- terms: [Tumour markers (CEA, LDH, chromogranin, thyroglobulin)](https://onco.cc/terms/tumour-markers/)

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