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Testicular Choriocarcinoma: a Rare Variant that Requires a Unique Treatment Approach

  • Genitourinary Cancers (E Jonasch, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Testicular germ cell tumors represent the most common malignancy among young men. While 5-year overall survival and cure for this population is greater than 95 %, choriocarcinoma is an aggressive subtype of this disease with far worse prognosis—5-year survival for choriocarcinoma is less than 80 %. In order to be able to treat these patients appropriately, a provider must recognize characteristic features of choriocarcinoma including elevated human chorionic gonadotropin in a young man with testicular mass; the astute clinician should also know the signs and symptoms of choriocarcinoma syndrome, characterized by bleeding from metastatic sites, which represents a medical emergency and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Treatment should be directed towards a goal of tumor marker normalization, and patients with refractory disease should be considered for advanced therapies and clinical trials. Choriocarcinoma is a unique and aggressive germ cell malignancy, and these patients require early aggressive treatment to improve their chance of survival.

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Conflict of Interest

Matthew James Reilley and Lance C. Pagliaro declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1155 Pressler St., Unit 1374, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Matthew James Reilley & Lance C. Pagliaro

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  1. Matthew James Reilley
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  2. Lance C. Pagliaro
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Correspondence to Lance C. Pagliaro.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Genitourinary Cancers

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Reilley, M.J., Pagliaro, L.C. Testicular Choriocarcinoma: a Rare Variant that Requires a Unique Treatment Approach. Curr Oncol Rep 17, 2 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0430-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0430-0

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