Non-seminoma vs Seminoma

[Matt_24]

What is the difference really between Non-seminoma and Seminoma? I read some of these posts, and it seems Seminoma is better...and others make it seem as though non-seminoma is better. I'm just a bit confused. Thanks!

[Scott]

A few considerations...

Overall cure rates for stage I cases are 99% for seminoma and 98% for non-seminoma. Non-seminoma tends to be more aggressive; seminoma tends to be more slow-growing. Staging for seminoma includes only "good" and "intermediate" risk cases, no "poor." Seminoma is also very sensitive to radiation, while non-seminoma is not.

[Fed]

What is the difference really between Non-seminoma and Seminoma?

I won't get into the very specific cell biology details, but the main difference lies in their developmental pathway. All testicular cancer tumors begin as a premalignant "carcinoma in situ" which can then split into two lineages, seminomas and non-seminomas. It is not very well understood, though, what specifies the differentiation pathway.

Seminomas divide very slowly while non-seminomas divide more rapidly, hence the reason seminomas are usually easier to treat. Notwithstanding this difference, all germ cell tumors are all very sensitive to chemotherapy, which is part of the reason testicular cancer has such high cure rates.

[Scott]

We should also note that the classification "non-seminoma" includes several cell types: embryonal carcinoma, teratoma, teratocarcinoma, choriocarcinoma, and yolk sac.