Testicular cancer is a tumour in a testis. A testicular cancer most commonly presents as a painless lump in a testis in a young man (generally 16 years to 36 years). Some testicular tumours will be benign tumours.
Testicular cancer is not very common accounting for 1% of malignancies diagnosed in men. In Australia, the risk of developing testicular cancer by age 85 is 1 in 187.
Although testicular cancers can arise in any young man, risk factors for the development of testicular cancer include a past history of an undescended testis. All adolescents and young men are encouraged to regularly check their testes for lumps and this advice is especially important in young men with a past history of testicular maldescent.
Testicular cancer is generally cured by removal of the involved testis. Early presentation and diagnosis is essential.
In some cases the cancer cells may have spread to the abdominal lymph nodes, lungs, or other parts of the body and either chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery or a combination of these modalities of treatment may be necessary to cure the disease.
Testicular cancer has a very high cure rate of over 95 per cent.