SUDDEN-DEATH CAUSED BY TESTICULAR GERM-CELL TUMOR

Most cases of sudden unexpected 'natural' death are due to primary dis orders of the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous system. Sudden death due to a previously undiagnosed malignancy is rare in you ng, apparently healthy subjects. We report an unusual cause of sudden unexpected death due to pulmonary tumour embolism complicating an undi agnosed germ cell tumour of the testis in a 37-year-old white male. Al though death due to testicular tumours is not uncommon in young adult males, it rarely follows pulmonary embolism secondary to inferior vena cava (IVC) tumour invasion. A review of the literature revealed four other cases with a similar mechanism of death.