Introduction: Because spermatocytic tumors of the testis are rare, only limited evidence exists regarding the malignant potential and the optimal management of localized and metastatic disease.
Materials and methods: We performed a systematic review through MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Web of Science to identify reports including patients with testicular spermatocytic tumors.
Results: From originally 7863 studies, we extracted data of 146 patients of which 99% were treated with radical orchiectomy. Metastases in patients with initially localised disease were diagnosed in 7% of patients and detected after a median follow-up of 5.5 months (range 2-21 months). Patients with aggressive histology (sarcoma or anaplastic subtype) were more likely to have metastatic disease (6/124 (5%) vs 9/22 (41%), p < 0.001). Patients with metastatic disease had larger primary tumors (92.5 vs 67.5 mm, p = 0.05). Life expectancy in patients with metastatic disease ranged from 1 to 25 months.
Conclusion: The published literature does neither support the use of testis sparing surgery nor adjuvant therapy. Patients with aggressive variants or larger tumors were more likely to have metastases and develop recurrences within the first few years. Patients with metastatic disease have a limited life expectancy and metastatic spermatocytic tumors are not as responsive to chemotherapy as germ cell cancers.
Keywords: Germ cell tumor; Oncology; Spermatocytic seminoma; Spermatocytic tumor; Systematic review; Testicular cancer.