Immunohistochemical insights into a hidden pathology: Canine cryptorchidism

Cryptorchidism is a common disorder in the canine population with some aspects still unclear. Although the bilateral condition is known to lead to fertility problems and predisposition to testicular cancer, the neoplastic risk for scrotal testis in unilateral cryptorchid dog is controversial. Therefore, the therapeutic approach to the canine unilateral cryptorchid is arbitrary so far. This study aimed to investigate precancerous testicular lesions, such as immaturity and atrophy, and compare them in scrotal and undescended testes using an in-depth diagnostic analysis based on immunophenotypic patterns. With this purpose, 26 adult male dogs of different ages and breeds, affected by unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism were enrolled. After surgical removal, testes were examined immunohistochemically to assess their positivity for specific markers of the canine foetal/neonatal period, that is vimentin (VIM), cytokeratin (CK), desmin (DES), inhibin-α (INH), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in Sertoli cells, and placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in germ cells. Except for the ubiquitous VIM, all the markers were more expressed in neoplastic gonads compared to healthy ones (P < 0.05). Similarly, testes detected with Sertoli cell-only tubules as well as with Sertoli cells hyperplasia showed higher expression than gonads without such alterations for CK, DES, AMH and PLAP, and for CK and DES, respectively (P < 0.05). The same trend was observed in undescended respect to scrotal testes even though their positivity was significant only for DES, INH and AMH (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical positivity found in scrotal testes of unilateral cryptorchid dogs, even in absence of detectable anatomical abnormalities, was suggestive of precancerous lesions. Despite the limited sample size, this study could help to clarify the predisposition to neoplastic development in normally descended testes. These markers expression in adult life could allow identifying the early stages of the testicular carcinogenesis process besides suggesting a precautionary bilateral surgical approach in unilateral cryptorchid dogs.