Testicular cancer in Nigerians

This is a report of prospective study of eight patients with testicular tumours seen at the Urology Unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital over a five-year period (1979-1983). The mean age was 32.7 years. Four patients (50%) had germ cell tumours including embryonal carcinoma 25%, seminoma 12.5% and malignant teratoma undifferentiated (MTU) 12.5%. The seminoma in this group originated from a testis which was previously undescended but brought into the scrotum at six years of age. The other four patients (50%), had non germ cell tumours. Two of these patients (25%) had paratesticular tumours including rhabdomyosarcoma of paratesticular adnexae and liposarcoma. One (12.5%) had adenomatoid tumour of the epididymis while the last patient (12.5%) had malignant fibrous mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis. This study reaffirms the fact that testicular tumours are rare in blacks and that Nigeria has the lowest incidence reported at 0.1 per 100,000 per annum.