Introduction: Infertility in men may be associated with an elevated risk of testicular cancer. The authors report a case of testicular seminoma discovered fortuitously during a workup for infertility.
Case: A 30 year-old male was seen for infertility. Physical examination and testicular ultrasonography were normal. The sperm count found oligoasthenospermia related to the excretory ducts. The patient underwent testicular biopsies for infertility, which showed an intratubular germ cell tumor. Tumor markers (beta HCG, alpha FP, LDH) were normal. Computed tomography was normal for the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis. We performed an inguinal orchiectomy. The pathology examination found seminoma, at a pT1 stage. One course of chemotherapy followed.
Discussion: The incidence of testicular cancer is increasing throughout the world. Recent studies show a strong relation between infertility and an increased risk of testicular cancer, and some authors even suggest a causal relation.