What do you need to know about testicular cancer?

Testicular tumors are separated into two broad categories depending on their pathological anatomy: seminomatous and non seminomatous.

These tumors are usually treated through surgery and can be cured easily if they are confined to the testicles. If the tumors are more wide spread, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be used along with surgery to treat the cancer. It is because of these treatments that testicular cancer is successfully treated in the majority of cases.

The main symptom is the progressive swelling of one or the other testicle. Other symptoms include ginecomasty (breast growth) caused by hormonal imbalance. In some cases, coughing or pulmonary hemorrhage (presence of methastases) may be the initial symptom. It is however becoming less common due to recent medical advances.

A diagnosis is usually obtained with via ultrasound and physical evaluation. For a complete diagnosis it is also required to test for body compounds that indicate the presence of tumors (beta-HCH, alpha-fetoprotein and LDH).

If the tumor being treated is localized it is usually surgically removed. Occasionally, after surgery and depending on the individual patients situation radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be required.

   Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is used mainly as a preventive measure or if the patient has become infradiaphragmatic.

   Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy consists of the use of various different drugs to kill cancer cells. It is used in testicular cancer as a preventive measure after the tumors have been removed and during the recovery phase.

After the tumor has been removed, chemotherapy aids in curing the patient between 50% and 93% of times; depending on characteristics of the tumor and type of cancer.