Incidental testicular tumors common in infertile men

Ultrasound screening of infertile men shows a high incidence of testicular tumors, Israeli researchers report in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility. They therefore suggest that “routine sonographic screening of infertile men” may be warranted.

Dr. Raanan Tal of Tel Aviv University and colleagues came to these conclusions after conducting a retrospective study of 150 men who had undergone orchiectomy over a 10-year period.During ultrasound evaluation, an impalpable testicular tumor was detected in 11 of the men. Eight of these tumors were not palpable at physical examination.Six tumors were malignant-germ cell and three were Leydig-cell tumors. All four men with undescended testis had malignant tumors.The investigators conclude that the “use of trans-scrotal sonography enables early diagnosis of small nonpalpable tumors. Further studies are warranted to establish the yield of routine sonographic screening for infertile men and their specific management.”Dr. Tal added that “the need to treat a young patient with testicular cancer while preserving future fertility poses a real challenge to the urologist.”(Source: Fertil Steril 2004;82:469-471: Reuters Health News: September 2004.)