Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Pathology pp 1–2Cite as

Testis Collecting Duct and Rete Testis Adenocarcinoma

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 42 Accesses

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

Definition

Carcinoma with glandular differentiation arising from rete testis.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Rete testis carcinoma is rare.

  • Age

    Age at presentation ranges between 17 and 91 years with a peak around age 70.

  • Sex

    Male.

  • Site

    Carcinoma of the rete testis is centered in the testicular hilum.

  • Treatment

    Orchifunicolectomy.

  • Outcome

    The tumor is aggressive and may have synchronous metastases to para-aortic and iliac lymphnodes. Less commonly metastases to the lungs, liver, and bone have been reported. The prognosis is poor, with an overall 5-years survival rate of 12%. Involvement of the skin of the scrotum, penis, or perineum is reported (Nochomovitz and Orenstein 1984; Michael and Srigley 2013).

Macroscopy

Most patients present with large solid scrotal mass centered in the testicular hilum. The diameter ranges from 1 to 12 cm; size >5 cm is a poor prognostic finding. Many are multifocal and/or extending to the tunica and the spermatic cord. Pathologic reporting supports two main...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References and Further Reading

  • Al-Obaidy, K. I., Idrees, M. T., Grignon, D. J., & Ulbright, T. M. (2019). Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis: Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical characterization of 6 cases and review of the literature. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. [Epub ahead of print]. https://doi.org/10.1097/PAS.0000000000001219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amin, M. B. (2005). Selected other problematic testicular and paratesticular lesions: Rete testis neoplasms and pseudotumors, mesothelial lesions and secondary tumors. Modern Pathology, 18(Suppl 2), S131–S145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michael, H., & Srigley, J. (2013). Pathology of the paratesticular region. In Urological pathology (1st ed., pp. 804–854). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nochomovitz, L. E., & Orenstein, J. M. (1984). Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis. Case report, ultrastructural observations, and clinicopathologic correlates. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 8(8), 625–634.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paluru, S., Ulbright, T. M., Amin, M., Montironi, R., & Epstein, J. I. (2018). The morphologic spectrum of sertoliform cystadenoma of the rete testis: A series of 15 cases. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 42(2), 141–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Uropathology Unit, Department of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Maurizio Colecchia

  2. Department of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Alessia Bertolotti

Authors
  1. Maurizio Colecchia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessia Bertolotti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maurizio Colecchia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Colecchia, M., Bertolotti, A. (2019). Testis Collecting Duct and Rete Testis Adenocarcinoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4959-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4959-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation