GIANT MALIGNANT FIBROUS HISTIOCYTOMA OF THE TESTIS SPERMATIC CORD - PSYCHOLOGIC AND POSSIBLE ETIOLOGIC COMPLICATIONS OF UNETHICAL NAZI MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION/

This case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the testis/spermatic co rd was found in a Holocaust survivor who was injected with an unknown substance in the left testicle while in Auschwitz concentration camp i n 1943. Because malignant fibrous histiocytoma is a neoplasm rarely fo und in this location, with only 26 previously reported cases, a review of this entity was performed. A review of Nazi medical practices in t he literature and through the Holocaust Museum research department was undertaken in an attempt to ascertain identification of the unknown s ubstance injected into this patient; however, exact identification of the Auschwitz experiment or experimenter could not be determined. A le ft radical orchiectomy was performed, and subsequent histolopathologic review revealed a well-encapsulated 27 x 22 x 17-cm malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The left testis was not clearly identified due to necro sis of the tumor. This is the largest malignant fibrous histiocytoma o f the spermatic cord/testis recorded in the literature to date. Based on the unusual location and size, the intratesticular injection probab ly contributed to the tumor development and certainly caused the patie nt's delay in seeking medical treatment. Copyright 1996 by Elsevier Sc ience Inc.