Primary adenocarcinoma of the seminal vesicles. A review of the literature.

ABSTRACT

Primary adenocarcinoma of the seminal vesicles (SV) are extremely rare and approximately only 60 cases have been reported in the literature. Due to the lack of specific symptoms the patients often present in an advanced stage of their disease. The only clinical examination that can indicate the presence of a neoplasm in the SVs is the digital rectal examination (DRE). Serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific acid phosphatase (PAP) are usually normal in patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the SV and only CA-125 can be proved a useful blood biomarker contributing to the diagnosis and the follow up of the SV adenocarcinoma. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and FDG-PET/CT have been used for the diagnosis and the staging of the SV adenocarcinoma. Various combinations of radical surgery, radiotherapy androgen deprivation therapy and chemotherapy have been proposed for the management of the disease but the prognosis is poor and the mean survival is two years after the diagnosis.