Testis tumors: the clinical significance of the tumor-contaminated scrotum.

Between 1977 and 1979 we evaluated 224 patients with testicular cancer. Of these patients 32 had undergone inadequate primary procedures, such as transscrotal orchiectomy, transcrotal exploration, biopsy or aspiration. These 32 patients were compared to a cohort population who had undergone radical inguinal orchiectomy. Differences in management, nodal metastases, local recurrences, intervals free of disease and survival by stage of disease were determined. Patients with seminoma and a contaminated scrotum received radiation therapy to the involved hemiscrotum . Partial scrotectomy without ilioinguinal node dissection was performed on most patients with nonseminomatous disease. An inguinal node metastasis developed before radiation therapy in a patient with seminoma. There were no local recurrences. No statistically significant difference in either intervals free of disease or survival between contaminated and cohort populations was found. We conclude that with prompt adequate management there is no adverse effect on prognosis due solely to scrotal tumor contamination, contrary to what has been implied in the literature.