Burned-out testicular tumor: Two case reports

Abstract

Spontaneous regression of a testicular tumor or burned-out testicular tumor is a rare phenomenon in patients with testicular germ cell tumors. The condition is characterized by tumor metastases, suspicious findings of the testicular tumor on ultrasound imaging, and partial or total histological regression of the primary testicular tumor after orchiectomy without treatment. Clinically, patients present with a disseminated tumor with symptoms related to the metastatic site without a palpable testicular tumor. Patients may also present with elevated levels of tumor biomarkers, depending on the histology. The etiopathogenesis of this phenomenon remains unclear and may involve immunologic factors as well as necrosis due to tumor growth beyond the available blood supply. We report here two clinical cases of patients treated at our center, both presenting with symptoms caused by retroperitoneal lymph node dissemination but different histologiesas well as a different clinical course. Keywords: germ cell tumor; testicular cancer; spontaneous regression.