Abstract 3449: Placental characteristics and risk of cryptorchidism among populations at high and low risk of testicular germ cell tumors

Abstract

Abstract Background: Testicular germ cell tumors, which are significantly more common among white men than black men in the U.S., are thought to be part of a Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS) that also includes impaired fertility, hypospadias and cryptorchidism. The etiology of the TDS conditions is not well understood, but the in-utero milieu is likely to be a significant factor. As the placenta is a critically important determinant of the in-utero milieu, placental characteristics may play a role in determining risk of the TDS conditions. Prior evidence suggests that placental weight, in particular, may be associated with cryptorchidism. Methods: We examined placental characteristics (weight, thickness, placental weight/birth weight ratio, infarct size, disorders of membrane development, presence of macrophages in the amniotic fluid) and cryptorchidism in a nested case-control study within the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP). The CPP was a maternal-child cohort study conducted in 12 medical centers in the U.S. between 1959 and 1965. Diagnoses of cryptorchidism made during the first year of life were included in the case group. The analysis contrasted 413 (232 white, 181 black) boys with cryptorchidism to 23,799 (12,092 white, 11,707 black) boys without cryptorchidism. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression, stratified by race. Results: Among white boys, cryptorchidism was significantly associated with circummarginate placenta (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.7) or a combination of circummarginate/circumvallate (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) placenta. Among black boys, cryptorchidism was significantly associated with having at least one placental infarct greater than 3 cm (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1-4.8) and with placental weight in the lower (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.6) or higher (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.3) tertile compared with the middle tertile. No significant associations were found between cryptorchidism and the other placental characteristics in either white or black boys. Conclusion: These results suggest that there may be associations between cryptorchidism and certain placental characteristics which differ between white and black births. The race-specific findings suggest an area where future research may prove fruitful. Citation Format: Armen A. Ghazarian, Britton Trabert, Barry Graubard, Matthew Longnecker, Mark Klebanoff, Katherine McGlynn. Placental characteristics and risk of cryptorchidism among populations at high and low risk of testicular germ cell tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3449.