Rare cancer in pregnant women found in male testicles...hormone levels equal to four weeks of pregnancy
Apr 29, 2025
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Medical staff at Mara University Medical Hospital in Malaysia recently published a rare case of testicular cancer in a 52-year-old male patient in the American SCI-level journal 『American Journal of Case Reports』.
The patient visited the hospital due to painless swelling of the lower right side of the abdomen, the area where the buttocks and thighs meet. He said the swelling got bigger for about three months.
As a result of the examination, the abscess, which was 20 cm long, 11 cm wide, and 10 cm deep, was extended from the groin to the scrotum.
Further examination revealed beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (BHCG) levels between 236 and 335 IU/L.
BHCG is a hormone secreted by the placenta in the early stages of pregnancy, plays an important role in determining whether you are pregnant and is produced after fertilized eggs are implanted on the wall of the uterus.
BHCG levels in nonpregnant women are typically less than 5 IU/L, and healthy men are less than 2 IU/L.
His level was about the same as that of a woman who was four weeks pregnant.
Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) examination of the abdomen and pelvis revealed testicular cancer that had already spread to lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and bones.
Histopathological examination also confirmed testicular choroid cancer with the presence of lymphatic vascular involvement.
Chorionic cancer is a type of malignant tumor and is caused by abnormal proliferation of chorionic cells that form the placenta.
When the placenta is formed in the uterus, the umbilical cord and fetus are connected to the inside of the placenta. On the outside of the placenta, a thin, thread-like tissue called a villi is connected to the uterine wall. The fetus receives oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood through the villi.
This cancer mainly occurs in pregnancy-related situations and often originated in conditions such as cataract (abnormal placental tissue growth during pregnancy).
Medical staff at Mara University Medical Center performed initial treatment, but showed symptoms of seizures two months after surgery and chemotherapy, and later computed tomography (CT) scans showed brain metastasis. With three children, he unfortunately died of chorionic cancer syndrome 10 months after his diagnosis.
The medical staff who reported this case said that "Testicular chorionic cancer poses a serious clinical problem because it is rare and aggressive" and that "a multidisciplinary treatment approach seems necessary"."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
