TESTICULAR GERM-CELL TUMORS OF CHILDHOOD IN DENMARK, 1943-1989 - INCIDENCE AND EVALUATION OF HISTOLOGY USING IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES

In the Danish Cancer Registry, 72 testicular tumours in boys younger t han 15 years of age were recorded during the period 1943-1989 and mate rial from 34 of these was retrieved from Danish departments of patholo gy. The histological types were evaluated and the role of immunohistoc hemical staining was analysed. The survival of the patients was correl ated with the histological diagnoses, and changes in the incidence of testicular cancers in childhood were analysed. Twenty-nine of the 34 p atients had germ cell tumours, which fell into two groups (infantile a nd pubertal) with distinct differences. The tumours of infancy usually presented before the age of 3 years and were either pure yolk sac tum ours or teratomas. The tumours of puberty showed no morphological or i mmunohistochemical differences from adult germ cell tumours. In the in fantile group, immunohistochemical staining confirmed the morphologica l evaluation but was not necessary for diagnosis. Patients in the infa ntile group seemed to have a better prognosis than adult patients, onl y one patient dying from his disease, whereas the pubertal patients se emed to have a prognosis similar to that of adult patients. The incide nce of infantile testicular cancer in Denmark appears to have increase d at almost the same rate as that observed in adult men, but due to th e small numbers in infancy, this cannot be statistically substantiated . We conclude that the testicular germ cell tumours of infancy and pub erty may arise from different precursor cells, but both groups seem to arise prenatally.