Definition
Embryonal carcinoma (ECA) is a highly malignant tumor composed of tumor cells with ovoid to columnar profiles, clear to granular or amphophilic cytoplasm, and markedly pleomorphic nuclei resembling primitive cells that retain the ability to differentiate toward somatic or extraembryonic structures.
Clinical Features
Incidence
The pure form of embryonal carcinoma accounts for only 2–10% of GCTs, but ECA is very frequent (87%) in mixed neoplasms, being after seminoma the most prevalent testicular GCT.
Age
It occurs a decade before seminoma and the mean patient age at diagnosis is 25–32 years. ECA is rare in childhood apart from a disorder of sex development and after age 50.
Site
Most patients present with a testicular mass; almost 10% of patients have metastases as presenting symptoms, occurring in the retroperitoneal lymphnodes.
Treatment
Different protocols are applied and chemotherapy...
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References and Further Reading
Albers, P., Albrecht, W., Algaba, F., Bokemeyer, C., Cohn-Cedermark, G., Fizazi, K., Horwich, A., Laguna, M. P., Nicolai, N., Oldenburg, J., & European Association of Urology. (2015). Guidelines on testicular cancer: 2015 update. European Urology, 68(6), 1054–1068.
Berney, D. M., Shamash, J., Pieroni, K., & Oliver, R. T. (2000). Loss of CD30 expression in metastatic embryonal carcinoma: The effects of chemotherapy? Histopathology, 39(4), 382–385.
Giannatempo, P., Paolini, B., Miceli, R., Raggi, D., Nicolai, N., Farè, E., Catanzaro, M., Biasoni, D., Torelli, T., Stagni, S., Piva, L., Mariani, L., Salvioni, R., Colecchia, M., Gianni, A. M., & Necchi, A. (2013). Persistent CD30 expression by embryonal carcinoma in the treatment time course: Prognostic significance of a worthwhile target for personalized treatment. Journal of Urology, 190(5), 1919–1924.
Kao, C. S., Ulbright, T. M., Young, R. H., & Idrees, M. T. (2014). Testicular embryonal carcinoma: A morphologic study of 180 cases highlighting unusual and unemphasized aspects. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 38(5), 689–697.
Rodriguez, P. N., Hafez, G. R., & Messing, E. M. (1986). Nonseminomatous germ cell tumor of the testicle: Does extensive staging of the primary tumor predict the likelihood of metastatic disease? Journal of Urology, 136(3), 604–608.
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Colecchia, M., Bertolotti, A. (2019). Embryonal Carcinoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3745-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3745-1
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