[Description of 5 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma of the testis]

The paper reports 5 cases of paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma in patients of 10 to 18 years of age out of 438 cases of testicular tumours admitted to the Istituto Naxionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori in Milan (1.14%). Two cases were far advanced and died within a few months despite chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Only one of the three operated patients was cured and is still living 4 years after treatment. This patient had negative nodes and a full course of post-operative chemotherapy. The causes of failure in the other two cases are believed to be: not performing retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in one and not giving post-operative chemotherapy in both. It is concluded that radical orchiectomy, retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (followed by radiotherapy in N+ cases) and post-operative chemotherapy are the treatment of choice for operable paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma.