Dear All,
I hope to find you in their best of health. I have a question to ask.
From 15th August, my father was having fever, cough and acute chest congestion so from 15th August, my father's chemotherapy was stopped due to his chest infections. From 4th September, my father noticed swelling / enlargement of his testicles. Our oncologist said that it is a plasmacytoma. From 5th September, high dose aggressive chemotherapy has been started again, which is of lenalidomide (Revlimid) (25 mg), bortezomib (Velcade) (1-4-8-12 ... ) and dex.
On searching the Internet, I could not find any information about plasmacytoma in testicles and no one has an answer and I and my family are very scared right now.
Should we go for radiotherapy? As I have read the testicle is like a sanctuary, your body protects this area as your DNA is there and chemo does not affect there and, till now, no effect of chemotherapy there.
Can you please give more information on the plasmacytoma in his testicles? Has someone else experienced this or heard about this?
What should be done now? Will the chemotherapy being given right now would be sufficient? Is the disease too aggressive that, when we stopped chemo for 15-20 days, it resulted in a plasmacytoma in his testicles?
Also, one more thing, he has immense pain in his both arms and shoulders. The pain is so bad in the left arm that he is not able to move it also. In the PET, scan lesions were found there. The pain does not go away even after taking pain killers, and it is there from the last few months.
Thanking you all very much,
Surbhi
Forums
3 posts
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surbhijain93 - Name: Surbhi Jain
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Dec 24, 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 57
Re: Plasmacytoma in the testicles
Hello Surbhi,
I'm sorry to hear about the plasmacytoma that your father appears to have developed.
There are a number of journal articles that have been written about the development of plasmacytomas in the testicles of male myeloma patients. Apparently, although relatively rare, it is common enough that a number of articles have been written on the topic.
You can find a list of such articles by going to this link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=plasmacytoma+testicle
A quick skim of some of the articles suggests that, in most (if not all) the cases reported in the literature, the plasmacytoma was addressed by surgical removal of one or both testicles. This procedure is described in the medical literature as "orchidectomy" or "orchiectomy".
As I'm not a doctor, I can't really comment on whether the development of the plasmacytoma in the time period you described is a sign of particularly aggressive myeloma.
That said, extramedullary plasmacytomas – or plasmacytomas outside the bone – are usually as sign of more aggressive myeloma.
Could you quickly remind us of when your father was diagnosed and what treatment he has undergone?
If I recall, he was diagnosed last December, initially was treated briefly (perhaps one cycle?) with Revlimid and prednisone, then had radiation therapy followed by Velcade, thalidomide, and dexamethasone. The thalidomide eventually was dropped and he was treated with just Velcade and dexamethasone, and then -- most recently -- Velcade, Revlimid, and dexamethasone.
Is that more or less correct?
I'm sorry to hear about the plasmacytoma that your father appears to have developed.
There are a number of journal articles that have been written about the development of plasmacytomas in the testicles of male myeloma patients. Apparently, although relatively rare, it is common enough that a number of articles have been written on the topic.
You can find a list of such articles by going to this link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=plasmacytoma+testicle
A quick skim of some of the articles suggests that, in most (if not all) the cases reported in the literature, the plasmacytoma was addressed by surgical removal of one or both testicles. This procedure is described in the medical literature as "orchidectomy" or "orchiectomy".
As I'm not a doctor, I can't really comment on whether the development of the plasmacytoma in the time period you described is a sign of particularly aggressive myeloma.
That said, extramedullary plasmacytomas – or plasmacytomas outside the bone – are usually as sign of more aggressive myeloma.
Could you quickly remind us of when your father was diagnosed and what treatment he has undergone?
If I recall, he was diagnosed last December, initially was treated briefly (perhaps one cycle?) with Revlimid and prednisone, then had radiation therapy followed by Velcade, thalidomide, and dexamethasone. The thalidomide eventually was dropped and he was treated with just Velcade and dexamethasone, and then -- most recently -- Velcade, Revlimid, and dexamethasone.
Is that more or less correct?
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Boris Simkovich - Name: Boris Simkovich
Founder
The Myeloma Beacon
Re: Plasmacytoma in the testicles
Dear Mr. Simkovich,
Thank you so much for your reply. I am so grateful to you for providing me the link and undergoing this pain for me. I will go through these links.
I too read about orchidectomy, but we would like to wait to see if it gets fine by chemo itself. The problem is the current chemo i.e. lenalidomide, bortezomib and dex, does not seem to control it.
You asked about the treatment he had undergone till now and I am so moved that you remembered so much. I never thought someone would do that. You remembered everything right, just that the initial treatment was of Revlimid and dexamethasone (not prednisone). Afterwards, you were all correct. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your reply. I am so grateful to you for providing me the link and undergoing this pain for me. I will go through these links.
I too read about orchidectomy, but we would like to wait to see if it gets fine by chemo itself. The problem is the current chemo i.e. lenalidomide, bortezomib and dex, does not seem to control it.
You asked about the treatment he had undergone till now and I am so moved that you remembered so much. I never thought someone would do that. You remembered everything right, just that the initial treatment was of Revlimid and dexamethasone (not prednisone). Afterwards, you were all correct. Thank you so much.
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surbhijain93 - Name: Surbhi Jain
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Dec 24, 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 57
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1