Testicular Cancer

Overview

Types of Testicular Cancer

This cancer strikes mostly young men and even children, making it unusual. Two major types of testicular cancer exist and grow from germ cells, the cells that make sperm:

• Seminomas. These usually occur in men between age 25 and 45 and tend to grow and spread more slowly than non-seminomas.
• Non-seminomas. These types of tumors usually occur in men between their late teens and early 30s. They grow more quickly than seminomas, and are more difficult to treat.

Symptoms

Symptoms of testicular cancer may include:

• A lump in either testicle
• A swollen testicle
• Pain, swelling or hardness in the testicles
• Heaviness in the scrotum
• Dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin
• Tenderness or swelling in the breast area

How We Can Help

Medical advances have made the overall cure rate for testicular cancer about 95 percent.

Men come from around the world to IU Health for treatment of testicular cancer. IU Health physicians offer a wide range of treatment options. Their multidisciplinary approach provides well-rounded and highly effective treatment.

Your IU Health oncologists will collaborate to treat even advanced testicular cancer that has metastasized (spread) to other organs of the body. Your particular cancer and your preferences play an important role in treatment decisions. Your team will also consist of social workers and counselors who can help you with emotional aspects of cancer.

Treatment

Your physicians will remove the affected testicle as an essential part of treatment. If you catch the cancer at an early stage, you may not require any additional treatment. If your physicians decide you do not need further treatment, they will carefully monitor you.

If not caught early enough, testicular cancer can spread (metastasize) upward into your lymph nodes in the abdomen. Further metastasis often appears in the lungs and requires more aggressive treatment.

Depending on the type and stage of your cancer, your treatment may require surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

In treating testicular cancer your physicians will speak with you about cure rates, not just survival rates. Their treatment has become so effective that males commonly do not have any recurrence—they live completely normal lives.

Clinical Trials

Lifesaving treatments developed over the last 50 years have made testicular cancer one of the most survivable cancers. Researchers and physicians at IU Health have helped develop innovative treatments through clinical trials for this cancer. They gained an international reputation for their work, and remain on the leading edge of treatment for testicular cancer.