Importancia de microlitiasis en ultrasonido de neoplasias de células germinales de testículo

IMPORTANCE OF MICROLITHIASIS IN TESTICULAR GERM CELL TUMOR ULTRASOUND Introduction: Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is an infrequent finding in testicular ultrasound and its clinical importance has not been completely defined. We analyzed the ultrasounds of patients with tes- ticular germ cell tumors in order to analyze the correlation between TM, histological findings and cli- nical variables. Methods and materials: Fifty-seven patients with germ cell tumors and radical orchiectomy were included. Clinical, pathological, and echographic data were analyzed. Results: TM was observed in 27 men (48.27%) and was absent in 30 (52.6%). Patients with TM had a greater likelihood of nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) vs seminomatous (55.6% vs 30%, p=0.05), stage II/III testicular cancer (51.8% vs 16.7%, p=0.005), positive surgical margins (18.5% vs 0%, p=0.021), and spermatic cord invasion (14.8% vs 0%, p=0.048). No significant difference was found in respect to other histopathological variables. Conclusion: This study showed that TM in testicular tumors is associated to NSGCT, advanced cli- nical stage, positive surgical margins, and spermatic cord invasion.