|

Understanding the Rare Testicular Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink
Understanding the Rare Testicular Mesothelioma

Testicular mesothelioma is a rare type of mesothelioma that occurs in fewer than 50 people each year. Researchers in Australia compared the qualities of testicular mesothelioma with more common types of this cancer.

Asbestos Exposure and Treatment

Most cases of mesothelioma occur around the lungs (pleural) or around the abdomen (peritoneal). However, there are two rare subtypes that can occur. One is found around the testis and the other can be found around the heart.

Testicular mesothelioma is also called paratesticular or mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis. The most common symptom is a mass or hydrocele (buildup of fluid) inside the scrotum.

Like the other types of mesothelioma, testicular mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. There is usually a long latency between asbestos exposure and diagnosis.

Treatment for testicular mesothelioma is the same as the treatment for pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma. It typically includes a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

The mortality rate from testicular mesothelioma has been reported to be 53% over a mean follow-up time of two years. Even with treatment, this tumor has a very poor prognosis with a median survival of about 23 months.

Understanding the Differences

In a new study published in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, researchers looked at nine cases of testicular mesothelioma. They compared the molecular qualities of this subtype with more common forms of mesothelioma (pleural and peritoneal).

Seven out of the nine cases of testicular mesothelioma were of the epithelioid cell type, while the other two cases were biphasic. About half of all malignant mesotheliomas are epithelioid. This type tends to have a better prognosis than biphasic cell types.

The researchers looked at the molecular qualities of these testicular mesotheliomas and compared them to mesotheliomas from the lungs and abdomen. The testicular mesothelioma tumors were not noticeably different from the other types of tumors.

The genome of testicular mesothelioma in this sample was also like the genome of mesothelioma from other sites in the body.

Since testicular mesothelioma is so rare, this research is important for helping doctors and researchers learn more about this mesothelioma subtype.

Source

Hocking AJ, Thomas EM, Prabhakaran S, et al. Molecular Characterization of Testicular Mesothelioma and the Role of Asbestos as a Causative Factor [published online ahead of print, 2023 Feb 16]. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2023;10.5858/arpa.2022-0283-OA. doi:10.5858/arpa.2022-0283-OA. https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/doi/10.5858/arpa.2022-0283-OA/490871/Molecular-Characterization-of-Testicular

 

Similar Posts

  • |

    Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

  • |

    Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

    ByAlex Strauss

    A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

  • | | |

    Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia is bracing for an expected new wave of mesothelioma cases in the next decade and the Lung Foundation of Australia is taking action now to get ready. The Foundation has paid for ten nurses from around the country to receive specialized training in helping patients and families cope with mesothelioma. The nurses, who have recently completed the training, are now equipped to lead treatment planning for these complex cancer patients and to help other nurses do the same. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in the lining around the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, a toxin that was once alarmingly prevalent in Australia where it was mined and heavily used in construction. Because…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible

    ByAlex Strauss

    An international team of researchers is studying the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells in an effort to improve mesothelioma diagnosis. The team, made up of scientists from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Chile, has just published their findings on a new kind of test to identify protein-derived mesothelioma biomarkers in blood serum. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membranes around organs. Because the most common mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, is also overproduced by other kinds of cancer cells, it has only limited diagnostic value. A test to identify a set of proteins produced specifically by mesothelioma cells could greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. Led by Ferdinando Cerciello and Bernd Wollscheid of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology in…

  • | |

    Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Scientists at one of the world’s top mesothelioma research centers, the Asbestos Diseases Research institute in Sydney, Australia, say that restoring the expression of certain micro RNAs in the cells of mesothelioma patients may offer a new way to fight the disease. A microRNA is a small RNA molecule which is involved in the regulation of gene expression. According to a new report in the Annals of Oncology, the Australian scientists found reduced expression of the micro RNA-15 family (miR-15/16) in the cells of mice with mesothelioma. “When malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines were compared with the normal mesothelial cell line MeT-5A, the downregulation of miR-15/16 was 2- to 10-fold,” they report. This finding is consistent with previous cancer research…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Claims Another American Actor

    ByAlex Strauss

    Another American actor has died of malignant mesothelioma. Veteran character actor Ed Lauter, who worked with such prominent names as Clint Eastwood, George C. Scott, Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise, died this week in Los Angeles. According to the Associated Press, one of Lauter’s most notable roles was that of a prison guard in the 1974 Burt Reynolds film “The Longest Yard”. He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Family Plot”, “Born on the Fourth of July” with Tom Cruise, and most recently played a butler in the 2011 Oscar-winning film “The Artist”. Lauter’s television appearances included “The Office”, “ER”, “Murder She Wrote” and “The Rockford Files”. Although little is being said about the origin of Lauter’s mesothelioma, an aggressive…