Men aged 20-34, with undescended testicles or a family member who has had testicular cancer are at high risk.
Testicular cancer is rare, accounting for about 1% of all cancers in men. It tends to affect younger men. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), about 9,600 men were diagnosed with the disease in the US in 2020. In the UK, about 2,300 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year.
There are no screening tests, so detection depends largely on common symptoms such as testicular lumps, heaviness in the scrotum, testicular pain, fatigue, lower back pain, and unexplained weight loss. Some cases have no symptoms and are only diagnosed during a reproductive health check-up or a routine health check-up.
Below are risk factors that increase men's risk of developing the disease.
Undescended testicles: This is a condition in which one or both testicles fail to move from the abdomen into the scrotum before a boy is born. According to the ACS, about 3 percent of boys are born with undescended testicles.
Men with this condition have a much higher risk of testicular cancer than normal men. The risk is increased in men whose testicles are located in the abdomen compared to men whose testicles have partially descended.
Men with this malformation need surgery to move the testicles down into the scrotum. Experts recommend that surgery be performed as soon as the child is one year old to avoid affecting physiology and fertility.
Doctor of Andrology Department, Urology - Nephrology - Andrology Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, visits a patient after surgery. Photo: Thang Vu
Genetics : Men whose father or brother has had testicular cancer have a higher-than-average risk of developing the disease. Klinefelter syndrome, a genetic condition that causes hypogonadism and infertility in men, is also linked.
Age: About half of all testicular cancers occur in men between the ages of 20 and 34. However, the disease can affect people of all ages, including infants and older men.
History of testicular cancer : About 3-4% of men who have been cured of cancer in one testicle have a recurrence of the disease in the other.
The most common sign of testicular cancer is a lump in one or sometimes both testicles. The lump is usually painless, can be mobile or immobile, smaller than a pea but can be larger than a marble, and feels hard like a rock.
If a tumor is detected in the testicle, men should see a urologist soon for an accurate diagnosis. According to the ACS, if treated promptly, stage 1 testicular cancer has a 5-year survival rate of about 99%, with stage 3 being 74%.
Mr. Ngoc (According to Verywell Health )
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