Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 through 35. Although it is the most common cancer in this age group, it accounts for only about 1 percent of all cancers in men. It is important to note that the incidence of testicular cancer is rising in the United States. A decade ago, testicular cancers were considered to be very difficult and dangerous. Many advances in treatment have resulted in earlier diagnosis and many men who are diagnosed at an early stage can expect to survive, which was not the case in the past. Testicular cancer is more common in Caucasian men. The germ cell tumor type is diagnosed in approximately 7,000 men per year, and is the most common type of testicular cancer. The earliest symptom of testicular cancer is pain, swelling or a hard lump in the testicle. There may also be a combination of these symptoms. Some men complain of heaviness in the scrotum, discomfort in the lower abdomen or groin or even just a vague change in the way a testicle feels. Much more rarely, men present with tenderness in the breasts caused by unusually high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG. As previously noted, testicular cancer was previously felt to have a poor prognosis. As of the date
Patients with non-seminomatous tumors without evidence of metastasis may undergo surveillance after orchiectomy. Given the slight risk of leukemia resulting from the use of some chemotherapies, many physicians avoid chemotherapy for patients with localized disease. The two most common drugs used in chemotherapy are cisplatinin and etoposide. Although sexual potency is not usually impaired by testicular cancer treatment, the ability to produce viable sperm (fertility) can be destroyed by the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Physicians usually recommend that patients undergoing chemotherapy store sperm before treatment starts. Because of concerns about the safety of permanent implants, artificial testicles are not usually offered for use in the United States. The patient's post-surgical course is based partly on the cancer cell type and partly on whether the cancer is found to have spread beyond the testicle itself. Testicular tumors are usually classified as seminoma or non-seminomatous. Seminomas, which occur when germ cells become cancerous at a very early stage in their development, are the most common type of testicular tumor, accounting for 50 percent of cases. The rest of the tumors consist of non-seminomatous tumors and mixed tumor types. About a quarter of these non-seminomatous tumors are embryonal carcinomas, which may arise in more mature germ cells. Another twenty five percent of the non-seminomatous tumors are teratoma carcinomas, which contain differen
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