Testicular cancer typically develops in one or both testicles in men between the ages of 18 and 35. It is a highly treatable and usually curable type of cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 8,400 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in 2009 in the United States. It is estimated that 380 men will die of testicular cancer this year. The rate of testicular cancer has been increasing in many countries, including the United States. Experts have not been able to find reasons for this increase. Dr. Michael Fumo, a urologist at Rockford Urology Associates, said fewer than 15 cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year at the clinic.
According to the National Cancer Institute, if the cancer hasn’t spread outside the testicle, the five-year relative survival rate is 99 percent. Even if the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the five-year relative survival rate is 96 percent. There are nearly 140,000 men who have survived testicular cancer in the U.S.
More than 90 percent of cancers of the testicle develop in special cells that produce sperm known as germ cells. There are two main types of germ-cell tumors that develop in men: seminomads and nonseminomas. Seminomads might be slightly more common.
There are four main types of nonseminoma tumors: embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac carcinoma, choriocarcinoma and teratoma. Most tumors are mixed with at least two different types, but this does not change treatment.
In about 90 percent of testicular cancer cases, men have a lump on a testicle or they might notice that the testicle is swollen or larger. Sometimes the lump causes pain, but most of the time there is no pain at all. Men with testicular cancer might mention a feeling of heaviness or aching in the lower abdomen or scrotum.
Some men with testicular cancer have no symptoms at all, and their cancer is found during medical testing for other conditions. Sometimes imaging tests done to find the cause of infertility can uncover a small testicular cancer. Some blood tests can help diagnose testicular tumors.
Scientists have found few risk factors that make a man more likely to develop testicular cancer.
Most men with testicular cancer do not have any of the known risk factors.
