Testicular cancer

CONDITION

Testicular cancers tend to affect men between the ages of 15 and 50 years. Patients who have previously had a testicular cancer, who had undescended testes (cryptorchidism) at birth or whose relatives have had testicular cancer are at higher risk of developing testicular cancers. Almost all testicular cancers are germ cell cancers, which arise from the cells that produce sperm.

The most common symptom is a painless swelling in the body of the testicle. You may also notice a change in the shape or texture of the testicle.

A diagnosis of testicular cancer is made based on a history, clinical examination, ultrasound scan and blood tests to check tumour markers. If testicular cancer is confirmed a CT scan is done to see if the disease has spread elsewhere in the body.

Testicular cancers are one of the most treatable forms of cancers, especially if diagnosed early. In the United Kingdom 98% of patients diagnosed with testicular cancer survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

The treatments for testicular cancer could compromise fertility (ability to father children) so prior to starting you will be offered sperm banking, a process in which your sperm is frozen so that it can be used in the future, if required.

The first step in treating a testicular cancer is to surgically remove the testicle, a procedure known as radical orchidectomy. This is done via an incision in the groin and can usually be done as a day case procedure. You may be offered the chance to have a prosthesis (artificial testicle) inserted at the same time for cosmetic purposes.

The testicle will be reviewed by the histopathology team and depending on the findings you may be offered a single dose of chemotherapy of a short course of radiotherapy to reduce the chance of the cancer returning in the future.