Serum inhibin B values in boys with unilateral vanished testis or unilateral cryptorchidism.

Purpose: Boys with cryptorchidism have overall increased gonadotropin and decreased serum inhibin B levels compared to normal. Serum inhibin B levels, produced by Sertoli cells, may reflect the state of germinative epithelium in cryptorchid testes. We evaluated whether serum inhibin B levels differed between boys with unilateral vanished testis and those with unilateral cryptorchidism.Materials and Methods: Blood samples from 297 boys 1.5 to 5 years old were included, of whom 222 had unilateral cryptorchidism, 29 had unilateral vanished testis and 46 had undergone unilateral orchiopexy 1 year previously. Serum inhibin B levels were measured using a commercially available ELISA kit and were compared to normal range.Results: Serum inhibin B levels in boys with unilateral vanished testis were not different from those with unilateral cryptorchidism. Serum inhibin B values were above the normal median in 43% of boys previously operated on for unilateral cryptorchidism, compared to 17% at surgery (p = 0.0003). ...