Is there a risk of gonadal tumors?
Dysgenetic testicular tissue (testicular tissue that has developed in an unusual way) is at risk of developing tumors, and not merely because it is undescended. That is, the risk persists even after successful orchiopexy (surgically bringing undescended testes down into scrotal sac). Ovarian tissue in intersexuals is not generally the cause of intersexuality, is not dysgenetic, and does not appear to be at elevated risk of developing tumors. Undescended testes in women with AIS are at risk of developing tumors. There are certain gonadal and adrenal tumors which produce hormones and therefore intersexual expression. However, in this case the tumor causes the intersexuality; the intersexuality does not cause the tumor. In general, the likelihood of gonadal tumors is small (~5%) before mid-twenties, and increases thereafter, with lifetime probabilities of 30% for partial or complete gonadal dysgenesis, and 10% for 46XY true hermaphroditism. Gonadal tumors are less likely in cases of sex-r
