{"id":1584,"date":"2025-04-03T02:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T02:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1584\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T02:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T02:15:11","slug":"man-with-high-levels-of-pregnancy-hormone-is-diagnosed-with-exceptionally-rare-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1584\/","title":{"rendered":"Man with high levels of pregnancy hormone is diagnosed with ‘exceptionally rare’ cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By SADIE WHITELOCKS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 14:48 EDT, 2 April 2025 | Updated: 14:52 EDT, 2 April 2025 <\/p>\n

It’s an extremely rare form of cancer<\/a>\u00a0that usually blights pregnant women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But doctors have revealed how a male patient developed choriocarcinoma – which traditionally starts in the uterus – in his testicles, making it an even rarer form of the disease.<\/p>\n

It is so rare, there are only a handful of reports of men with the condition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The unnamed 52-year-old man did not know he had the disease<\/a> and he originally visited a doctor complaining of a painless swelling in the\u00a0lower right side of his abdomen, in the area where the hip meets the thigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the swelling had progressively increased in size <\/a>over a three-month period and during a physical examination, doctors discovered it extended into his scrotum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other symptoms of\u00a0choriocarcinoma can include breast feminization, shrinking testes, and a loss of libido. However, the only complaint the man presented was abdominal swelling.<\/p>\n

After an initial check up, he was referred to a urologist for further testing and specialists found he had extremely high levels of beta-hCG, which is a hormone produced by the placenta after a fertilized egg implants in the uterus.<\/p>\n

The man’s beta-hCG levels ranged from\u00a0236 to 335 IU\/L, which is roughly the same range as a woman who is four weeks pregnant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Doctors <\/p>\n

Doctors have revealed how a male patient developed choriocarcinoma – which traditionally starts in the uterus – in his testicles, making it an even rarer form of the disease (stock image)<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

Men do produce small amounts of beta-hCG, but it is not one of their primary hormones and it is most known for its role in pregnancy.<\/p>\n

In non-pregnant women, beta-hCG levels are usually less than 5\u00a0IU\/L, while for healthy men, it is less than 2 IU\/L.<\/p>\n

Further scans of the patient’s abdomen and pelvis revealed that he had\u00a0testicular choriocarcinoma, which had spread to to the lymph nodes, liver, lungs and bones.<\/p>\n

Dr Abdelkader Chaar, an internist who has investigated testicular choriocarcinomas, describes them as the ‘most aggressive and rapidly arising germ cell tumors’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says by the time most cases are diagnosed, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is estimated that 9,720 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in 2025 in the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of these, Dr Chaar says choriocarcinomas will represents less than two percent of cases.<\/p>\n

After being diagnosed with\u00a0testicular choriocarcinoma, the unidentified patient underwent six cycles of chemotherapy in an effort to shrink the tumor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He then underwent surgery to have his testicles removed before more chemotherapy treatments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite initially responding well to the treatments, the man started experiencing seizures two months after his surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Subsequent CT scans revealed that the cancer had spread to his brain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ten months after his diagnosis the man, who was married and had three children, passed away due to the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The case was reported by a team of doctors from Jalan Hospital in Malaysia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They conclude, in a paper published in the American Journal of Case Reports: ‘Testicular choriocarcinoma poses a significant clinical challenge due to its rarity and aggressiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Individualized and multidisciplinary management approaches are essential for effectively addressing this challenging condition.’<\/p>\n

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