Metástasis óseas y sección medular secundaria a tumor testicular no seminomatoso

Abstract

Testicular cancer is the most frequent solid tumor in men between 15 and 35 years of age. Bone metastases associated with spinal cord injury are rare.We present the case of a 28-year-old man whose disease began 4 years prior with enlargement of the right testis. Physical examination revealed a hardened right testis measuring 20cm. An ultrasound study showed a heterogeneous image and the patient had elevated preoperative levels of the tumor markers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and bilateral pulmonary and retroperitoneal metastases. Radical orchiectomy revealed a mixed germ cell tumor made up of 70 % immature teratoma and 30 % endodermal sinuses. In the postoperative period, the patient presented with paraplegia and urinary retention. Tumor activity was documented in the cervical and lumbar spine with complete spinal cord injury. He was managed with steroid treatment and radiotherapy and then with 4 cycles of bleomycin-etoposide-cisplatin (BEP), but had disease progression. One month later he presented with intense pain and was unable to move his left shoulder due to tumor activity in that area, which was managed with radiotherapy. Second-line chemotherapy was not administered and the patient died.Vertebral metastases derived from testicular tumors can cause epidural compression. Management is based on steroid treatment and radiotherapy and emergency decompression surgery is required to prevent functional loss. The neurologic deficit tends to persist. These tumors are accompanied by bulky metastatic disease and require chemotherapy. Their outcome is poor. Bone metastases of nonseminomatous testicular tumors can manifest as bone pain or as spinal cord compression symptoms. No cases have been reported in the Mexican medical literature.