Testicular seminoma in the West Bank, Palestine: a 20-year laboratory-based clinicopathological series

Abstract Background Testicular seminoma is the most common germ cell tumor of young men, yet its profile has never been described in the Palestinian population. We aimed to describe the demographic, pathological, specimen-based, temporal, and reporting-branch distribution of histologically confirmed testicular seminoma diagnosed within a single diagnostic pathology network serving the West Bank; the study is descriptive and makes no inference about population incidence. Methods We retrospectively searched the laboratory information system of Medicare Laboratories (records issued February 2004–June 2026) for germ cell tumor terms and individually reviewed every candidate report. After excluding mixed and non-seminomatous germ cell tumors and non–germ-cell tumors, we retained 93 patients with pure testicular seminoma. Records were de-identified and consolidated to one index diagnostic specimen per patient. Variables were summarized descriptively; the temporal trend across complete calendar years (2006–2025) was assessed by the Mann–Kendall test. Results Of 123 germ cell tumor records retrieved, 93 (75.6%) were pure seminoma; the remainder were mixed (18), non-seminomatous (10), or non–germ-cell/unclassifiable (2). Among the 93 seminomas, all were male; the mean age was 35.7 ± 9.6 years (median 35; interquartile range 29–42; range 19–68), and 70.3% were aged 25–44 years. Diagnosis was established on a radical orchiectomy specimen in 58 patients (62.4%); the specimen-type field was uncoded in 27 (29.0%), and few were diagnosed on biopsy/fine-needle aspiration (4; 4.3%) or nodal/extragonadal material (4; 4.3%). Classic seminoma was explicitly documented in 55 (59%). Recorded cases rose from 3.6/year in 2006–2015 to 5.7/year in 2016–2025 (Mann–Kendall p = 0.003). Conclusions This is, to our knowledge, the first dedicated series of testicular seminoma from the Palestinian population. These laboratory-based data provide an initial baseline for seminoma diagnosed within a major West Bank pathology network; because no population denominator is available, they cannot estimate incidence. The rising recorded caseload most likely reflects the expanding activity and catchment of the network rather than a true change in disease occurrence, and supports the need for standardized synoptic pathology reporting and population-based cancer registration.