Serum and tissue tumour markers in seminomas

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Chemistry
• Uropathology

Background:

• Seminoma is a common testicular germ cell tumor.
• Tumor markers play a crucial role in diagnosis and monitoring of germ cell tumors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess serum expression of hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase (HBD), beta human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta HCG), alphafetoprotein (alpha FP), and placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in patients with pure seminoma.
• To correlate marker expression with seminoma stage and investigate beta HCG presence in tumor tissue.

Main Methods:

• Serum samples from 50 pure seminoma patients were analyzed for HBD, beta HCG, alpha FP, and PLAP levels.
• Pre-orchiectomy sera were assessed for stage I and stage 2/3 disease.
• Immunocytochemistry was used to detect beta HCG in primary tumor tissue from 39 patients.

Main Results:

• In stage I seminoma, elevated markers were observed in a subset of patients (HBD: 5/15, beta HCG: 3/15, alpha FP: 1/15, PLAP: 1/3).
• In stage 2/3 seminoma (pre-chemotherapy), elevated markers were more frequent (HBD: 19/27, beta HCG: 11/27, alpha FP: 2/27, PLAP: 10/18).
• Beta HCG was detected immunocytochemically in 6/21 stage I tumors and 5/18 stage 2/3 tumors.

Conclusions:

• Serum HBD and beta HCG are frequently elevated in seminoma, with higher prevalence in advanced stages.
• While alpha FP is rarely elevated in pure seminoma, PLAP shows moderate elevation, particularly in advanced disease.
• Immunocytochemical detection of beta HCG in tumors supports its utility as a marker in seminoma.