Seminoma laboratory findings

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sujit Routray, M.D. [2]

Overview

Laboratory findings consistent with the diagnosis of seminoma include Complete blood count (CBC), white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Kidney function tests is used before and after orchiectomy. Serum tumor marker tests are generally used to check the response to cancer treatment. The following tumor markers may be measured for testicular seminoma.Laboratory findings consistent with the diagnosis of seminoma include abnormal serum tumor marker levels (LDH, HCG). Some patients with seminoma may have elevated concentration of LDH. Among some patients with seminoma may have elevated concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Blood tests may detect the presence of placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) among 50% of patients with seminoma.

Blood chemistry tests that are used to diagnose testicular seminoma include the following:
Liver function tests:
- High levels of certain substances in the blood may mean that seminoma has spread to the liver.
Kidney function tests:
- It is used before and after orchiectomy.

Serum tumor marker tests are generally used to check the response to cancer treatment. The following tumor markers may be measured for testicular seminoma.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Classical or pure seminoma do not cause an elevated serum alpha fetoprotein.
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) may be the only marker that is elevated in some seminomas. The degree of elevation in the serum LDH has prognostic value in advanced seminoma. High LDH levels can indicate that the tumor is large, there is a large amount of cancer in the body, or the cancer is growing quickly. High levels can also mean that a man has advanced seminoma. LDH may also be high with some non-cancerous conditions.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) may be elevated in some cases, but this correlates more to the presence of trophoblast cells within the tumor. HCG can also be high, if the man has liver disease.
Blood tests may detect the presence of placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in 50% of cases. However, PLAP cannot usefully stand alone as a marker for seminoma and contributes little to follow-up, due to its rise with smoking.

↑ American cancer society,https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-diagnosed.html Accessed on May 7, 2019
↑ Iwatsuki S, Naiki T, Kawai N, Etani T, Iida K, Ando R, Nagai T, Okada A, Tozawa K, Sugiyama Y, Yasui T (May 2016). “Nonpalpable testicular pure seminoma with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein presenting with retroperitoneal metastasis: a case report”. J Med Case Rep. 10 (1): 114. doi:10.1186/s13256-016-0906-7. PMC 4858825. PMID 27150447.
↑ Milose JC, Filson CP, Weizer AZ, Hafez KS, Montgomery JS (December 2011). “Role of biochemical markers in testicular cancer: diagnosis, staging, and surveillance”. Open Access J Urol. 4: 1–8. doi:10.2147/OAJU.S15063. PMC 3818947. PMID 24198649.
↑ Lempiäinen A, Sankila A, Hotakainen K, Haglund C, Blomqvist C, Stenman UH (July 2014). “Expression of human chorionic gonadotropin in testicular germ cell tumors”. Urol. Oncol. 32 (5): 727–34. doi:10.1016/j.urolonc.2013.11.007. PMID 24502963.
↑ Koshida K, Uchibayashi T, Yamamoto H, Hirano K (January 1996). “Significance of placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in the monitoring of patients with seminoma”. Br J Urol. 77 (1): 138–42. PMID 8653285.