Seminoma in a 31-year-old patient on long-term growth hormone therapy

Summary

We describe a Caucasian male patient aged 31, who was referred to the Institute of Reproductive Medicine because of infertility and androgen deficiency and in whom we incidentally diagnosed a unilateral testicular tumor. The patient had received growth hormone (GH) since the age of 8 years. One case presenting with testicular neoplasm under growth hormone substitution has been described previously. In conclusion, it cannot be ruled out that GH treatment may be involved in the pathogenesis of germ cell tumor development. Special care should be exercised when patients with a history of maldescended testes require GH substitution. This care should include regular testicular ultrasonography at e.g. half-yearly intervals since sonography may detect testicular tumors long before they become clinically apparent.

Key words

Seminoma - growth hormone - tumor - growth hormone substitution