GERM CELL TUMOURS
James Bishop in Cancer Facts, 1999
INTRODUCTION Germ cell tumours comprise > 95% of adult testicular cancers. Germ cell tumours may also arise in midline structures including the mediastinum and retroperitoneum. Germ cell tumours arising in the pineal gland occur predominandy in children. Germ cell tumours comprise approximately 2–3% of ovarian cancers in our community and a higher incidence (up to 15%) in Asian countries. The principles of management are similar to testicular germ cell tumours but will not be discussed in detail here. Germ cell tumours comprise about 1 % of all male malignancy. Approximately 300 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in Australia. The incidence is increasing. Germ cell tumours are the most common malignancy in 15–35 year age group. High proportion of cures possible: approximately 80% of patients with metastatic malignancy achieve long-term disease-free survival with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. These tumours are a model for diagnostic and therapeutic use of serum tumour markers.
Germ cell tumours
Brice Antao, S Irish Michael, Anthony Lander, S Rothenberg MD Steven in Succeeding in Paediatric Surgery Examinations, 2017
A male with a history of cryptorchidism has a significantly increased risk of developing testicular cancer than a boy with descended testicles. The most common germ cell cancer in a male with a history of undescended testicles is a seminoma. In children with testicular germ cell tumours with enlarged lymph nodes, the primary treatment should be an inguinal radical orchidectomy with a sampling of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. In adults, retroperitoneal lymph node dissection has been used as a primary treatment modality for low-volume non-seminomatous germ cell tumours localised to the retroperitoneum as well as a salvage therapy for residual masses following chemotherapy. Sacrococcygeal tumours, if completely resected with the coccyx, have a very low risk of recurrence and over 90% cure rates. However, these patients should continue to have surveillance therapy with a digital rectal examination and alpha-fetoprotein levels for at least 3 years postoperatively.
Golgi apparatus regulation of differentiation
C. Yan Cheng in Spermatogenesis, 2018
The Golgi apparatus of germ cells of the testis of adult rats was isolated and subjected to a proteomics analysis with 1318 proteins characterized and localized in situ by light microscope immunocytochemistry. Some proteins were selective for the Golgi apparatus of germ cells spanning the greater part of germ cell differentiation. In the mid-1950s, detailed light microscope observations elucidated the complexity of the differentiation pathway of male germ cells in seminiferous tubules of the testis, a process referred to as spermatogenesis. The periodic acid Schiff technique was the breakthrough that enabled both the steps of germ cell differentiation to be uncovered as well as the discovery of stem cells. The most conspicuous event that defines spermatids is the formation of the acrosome, a membrane-bound lysosomal structure made by the Golgi apparatus. During early spermiogenesis, the chromatoid body is closely associated with the Golgi apparatus.
Germ Cell Sex Determination: Piecing Together a Complex Puzzle
Published in Cell Cycle, 2006
In many multicellular organisms, proper germ cell development is crucial for production of future generations. One critical step in this process is the decision of germ cells to develop into either sperm or eggs. Defects in germ cell sex determination can lead to infertility and germ cell tumors. However, while much is known about somatic sex determination, regulation of germ cell sex is not well understood. Recent studies with Drosophila reveal that the janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway promotes male germ cell development during early stages of gonad morphogenesis 1. Here, this and other work suggesting that the JAK/STAT pathway acts alongside a host other factors to regulate germ cell sex determination is discussed. Furthermore, recent insights into mouse germ cell sex determination are reviewed; revealing a number of correlations that suggest similar mechanisms may regulate aspects of both mouse and Drosophila germline sexual dimorphism.
Targeted therapies for patients with germ cell tumors
Published in Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 2008
Martin H Fenner, Gernot Beutel, Viktor Grünwald
Background: Patients with advanced germ cell tumors can be cured with cisplatin-based chemotherapy but the outcome remains unsatisfactory for patients with relapsed disease. Targeted therapies have changed the standard of care for many advanced solid tumors. Objective: To identify clinically available drugs that have the potential as targeted therapies in germ cell tumors. Methods: A literature search was carried out for expression and mutation status of receptor tyrosine kinases in germ cell tumors, also a literature and clinical trial database search for completed and ongoing clinical trials with targeted therapies in germ cell tumors. Results/conclusions: c-KIT is mutated in some seminomas and bilateral germ cell tumors. Several case reports and small clinical trials with trastuzumab, thalidomide and imatinib were identified and clinical trials with sunitinib and bevacizumab are ongoing. We expect an increased use of targeted therapies in advanced germ cell tumors in the next few years.
Germ Cell Adenylyl Cyclase Activity in the Human Undescended Testis and the Effect of HCG-Treatment
Published in Archives of Andrology, 1984
G. Läckgren, J. O. Gordeladze, L. Plöen, V. Hansson
In the present study we have examined the soluble Mn2+ dependent, germ cell specific adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity and germ cell morphology in testicular biopsies from twenty-three boys, aged 2—17 years, with undescended testes and three adult men with normally descended testes. Eight of the boys were treated with hCG immediately before surgery. Germ cell AC-activity (3.2—3.4 pmoles cAMP/mg protein/min) was found in the adult testes with normal germ cell morphology. Furthermore, low but significant AC-activity (0.2—0.8 pmoles cAMP/mg protein/min) was noted in biopsies containing only primary spermatocytes. There was no Mn2- dependent AC-activity in Sertoli cell only testes or in testes where only spermatogonia were observed. Treatment with hCG did not influence germ cell maturation or soluble Mn2+ dependent AC-activity.