Testicular Cancer

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Testicles, or testes, make male hormones and sperm. They are two egg-shaped organs inside the scrotum, the loose sac of skin behind the penis. You can get cancer in one or both testicles.

Testicular cancer mainly affects young men between the ages of 20 and 39. It is also more common in men who:

• Have had abnormal testicle development
• Have had an undescended testicle
• Have a family history of the cancer

Symptoms include pain, swelling, or lumps in your testicles or groin area. Doctors use a physical exam, lab tests, imaging tests, and a biopsy to diagnose testicular cancer. Most cases can be treated, especially if found early. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. Regular exams after treatment are important.

Treatments may also cause infertility. If you may want children later on, you should consider sperm banking before treatment.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• General Information about Testicular Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Testicular Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP) Tumor Marker Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Can Testicular Cancer Be Found Early? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Testicular Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Tumor Marker Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Ultrasound - Scrotum (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Risk Factors for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Testicular Cancer (American Academy of Family Physicians)
• Testicular exam (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Treatments and Therapies

• Chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Drugs Approved for Testicular Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• Radiation Therapy for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Surgery for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Options for Testicular Cancer, by Type and Stage (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Living as a Testicular Cancer Survivor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Testicular Microlithiasis: Is It Linked with Testicular Cancer? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What Causes Testicular Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Scrotal Masses (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Cancer Statistics: Testicular Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• Key Statistics for Testicular Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• What's New in Testicular Cancer Research? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Testicular Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Isochromosome 12p Formation Regulates Vitamin D Metabolism in Testicular Cancer.
• Article: Higher Expression Levels of SSX1 and SSX2 in Patients with Colon...
• Article: A Systematic Review Investigating the Difference between 1 Cycle versus 2...
• Testicular Cancer -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• Find a Cancer Doctor (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Children

• Childhood Testicular Cancer Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• General Information about Childhood Extracranial Germ Cell Tumors (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• How to Perform a Testicular Self-Examination (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Testicle lump (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Testicular biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Testicular cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Testicular self-examination (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish