Clinical, Morphological and Biochemical Studies on a Malignant Testicular Tumor

A malignant tumor located in the testis was removed from a boy with signs and symptoms of Cushing's syndrome. The preoperatively elevated urinary 17-ketosteroid and corticosteroid levels fell after removal of the tumor. Slices of the tumor were incubated with acetate-1-¹⁴C and the steroids formed were isolated by the carrier dilution technique. Radioactive 3β 3-hydroxypregn-5-en-20-one, 3β,17-dihydroxypregn-5-en-20-one, 3β-hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one, 17-hydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, cortisol, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione and 11β-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione were isolated. The morphological, biochemical and clinical findings are discussed and correlated.