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4 slides generated from the cancer page, with a quiz from the open benchmark and speaker notes that cite the sources. Arrow keys move between slides; Print gives one slide per page.
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.
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.
| Setting | Approach | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| All cases | Radical orchidectomy alone; no adjuvant therapy. | not mapped |