Testicular Cancer

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Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 35.  It is estimated that for an American white male, there is a 1 in 500 chance of developing testicular cancer over a lifetime.  The only strong risk factor is a history of an undescended testicle; however it has also been associated with infertility.  Testicular cancer can be very aggressive, with doubling times of tumors estimated to be as fast as 10 days.  The most common symptom is a painless testicular mass, however occasionally patients may complain of pain in the testicle.  Other symptoms may include weight loss, coughing up blood, bone pain, fluid retention, enlarged breasts and back pain.  Evaluation with a scrotal sonogram is always necessary.  If a cancer is suspected, removal of the testicle is necessary.  Eventually a CT or MRI is needed to evaluate for metastatic disease.   The treatment of testicular cancer has dramatically improved over the last 25 years with improvement in radiation, chemotherapy and surgical techniques.  Now more than 90% of patients are cured.