ABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of this study was the evaluation of the histological characteristics of testicular cancer in Cote d'Ivoire
Material and Methods: In this retrospective study, the medical charts of 54 patients with testicular tumors [mean age: 23,41 years; range: 13 months - 68 years] seen over a period of 25 years at the anatomy/pathology units of the universities of Cote d'Ivoire were evaluated with emphasis on the following data: patient age, geographical origin and clinical tumor characteristics, such as location, features, histological type. Tumor markers and staging of the disease were not included in the study
Results: On average, two tumors per year were diagnosed. Histologically, 87% were primary tumors, 46, 3% of them being germinal neoplasms [22, 22% seminomas and 24, 07% of the non-seminomatous type] and 40, 74% being non-germinal neoplasms including 18, 5% of rhabdo-myosarcomas. Secondary testicular tumors comprise 13, 9% of the cases of our study; most of them are metastases from Burkitt lymphoma [5 / 7 cases]. The rate of bilateral tumors in our study is high with 31%
Conclusion: Our study shows that testicular tumors are a rare entity in Cote d'Ivoire with an average incidence of 2 cases per year. The disease affects young males at an average age of 23 years, and the prognosis is often unfavorable due to the high incidence of bilateral disease which was found in 31% of our cases