# Yolk sac tumour of the testis, postpubertal type

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

## TL;DR

Yolk sac tumour is a germ cell tumour whose cells copy the yolk sac of an early embryo and make the protein alpha-fetoprotein, which is measured in the blood to track it. In adults it almost always occurs mixed with other non-seminoma components and is cured with cisplatin chemotherapy; the pure infant form is a different, gentler disease covered on the childhood page.

## Summary

The 2016 WHO classification splits yolk sac tumour into a postpubertal type, derived from germ cell neoplasia in situ and almost always part of a mixed non-seminoma, and a prepubertal type, unrelated to GCNIS, that is the commonest malignant testicular tumour of infants (Moch 2016). It grows in reticular, microcystic, endodermal sinus (Schiller-Duval body), papillary, glandular, solid and other patterns, secretes alpha-fetoprotein, and stains for glypican-3 and SALL4. Its importance in adults extends beyond the primary: among 124 somatic-type malignancies arising from testicular germ cell tumours, 7 of 45 adenocarcinomas were reclassified as glandular yolk sac tumour on glypican-3 and alpha-fetoprotein positivity, supporting a frequent yolk sac origin of the glandular tumours that appear in late relapse (Am J Surg Pathol 2014). In 33 pure yolk sac tumours of boys aged 5 to 71 months, 24 were disease-free and 8 developed metastases, with size over 4.5 cm, rete or epididymal invasion and necrosis predicting a poor outcome in stage I (Am J Surg Pathol 2015).

How it differs from its parent: it is the alpha-fetoprotein-producing component of non-seminoma, so a raised AFP after treatment signals yolk sac elements; it is the usual source of the chemoresistant glandular late relapses; and its prepubertal type belongs on the childhood germ cell page rather than here.

How common: no separate incidence figure in the sources read.

Treatment: as non-seminoma by stage and risk group with BEP, and resection of residual masses; late relapses with somatic-type or glandular yolk sac elements are treated surgically because they respond poorly to chemotherapy (Am J Surg Pathol 2014).

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Yolk sac tumour; Yolk sac tumor; Endodermal sinus tumour; Endodermal sinus tumor; Yolk sac tumour, postpubertal-type; Glandular yolk sac tumour
- Tags: subtype-page; wave4; testicular; rare
- Group: genitourinary
- Burden: A component of 38 of 64 mixed germ cell tumours in a marker study (Am J Surg Pathol 2004); pure yolk sac tumour is rare in adults and is the usual germ cell tumour of infants, where it has its own biology (Am J Surg Pathol 2015). No registry figure was found in the sources read.
- Subtypes: Yolk sac tumour, postpubertal type, in a mixed germ cell tumour (the usual adult form); Pure yolk sac tumour, postpubertal type (rare); Glandular yolk sac tumour in late relapse (chemoresistant; surgical); Yolk sac tumour, prepubertal type (infants; on the childhood germ cell page)
- Biomarkers: Serum alpha-fetoprotein; Glypican-3, SALL4 and alpha-fetoprotein immunohistochemistry; Schiller-Duval bodies; Isochromosome 12p (postpubertal type only)

## 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#what-it-is [4 subtypes]
- 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#treating-it [1 setting, 1 decision with options]
- 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#science [1 target]
- 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/#living-with-it [8 questions, 6 red cards]
- 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/coming/ [3 medicines]
- 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/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal/data/ [12 connected records]

## Standard of care

- All stages: Treated as non-seminoma by stage and risk group with BEP and resection of residual masses; late glandular relapses are resected. ([Non-seminomatous germ cell tumour](https://onco.cc/cancers/non-seminoma/), [Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/), [Bleomycin](https://onco.cc/drugs/bleomycin/), [Etoposide](https://onco.cc/drugs/etoposide/), [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/), [Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)](https://onco.cc/terms/afp/))

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endodermal_sinus_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
- Am J Surg Pathol 2014: somatic-type malignancies from testicular germ cell tumours, 124 cases, frequent yolk sac tumour origin: https://doi.org/10.1097/pas.0000000000000262
- Am J Surg Pathol 2015: yolk sac tumour of the testis in infants and children, 33 cases: https://doi.org/10.1097/pas.0000000000000432
- Am J Surg Pathol 2004: OCT4 staining in testicular tumours, a marker for seminoma and embryonal carcinoma: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000478-200407000-00014

## Connected records

- cancers: [Choriocarcinoma of the testis](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular-choriocarcinoma/), [Embryonal carcinoma of the testis](https://onco.cc/cancers/embryonal-carcinoma-testis/), [Germ cell tumours of childhood and adolescence (extracranial and CNS)](https://onco.cc/cancers/paediatric-germ-cell-tumours/), [Non-seminomatous germ cell tumour](https://onco.cc/cancers/non-seminoma/), [Testicular germ cell tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/testicular/)
- drugs: [Bleomycin](https://onco.cc/drugs/bleomycin/), [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/), [Etoposide](https://onco.cc/drugs/etoposide/)
- terms: [Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)](https://onco.cc/terms/afp/), [Tumour markers (CEA, LDH, chromogranin, thyroglobulin)](https://onco.cc/terms/tumour-markers/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/yolk-sac-tumour-postpubertal.json