Testicular cancer

What is testicular cancer?

Testicular cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the testicles, which are the oval glands that produce sperm and the hormone testosterone in men between the ages of 15 and 35. It can occur in one or both testicles, and is more common in young men and in those who have had abnormal testicular development or an undescended testicle since birth, or if there is a genetic history.

Testicular cancer can be of several types: embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac tumor, choriocarcinoma, immature teratoma or mature teratoma.

What are the symptoms of testicular cancer?

The symptoms of testicular tumors are: a hard, painless lump in the testicles or groin region, pain and tenderness in the chest area, pain in the scrotum, and a feeling of heaviness or swelling in the scrotum.

What are the causes of testicular cancer?

The main causes of testicular cancer are genetic, due to the testicle not having moved correctly from the abdomen to the scrotum during its formation. It also occurs in patients who have been subjected to aggressive or toxic substances for a long period of time because of their work.

Can testicular cancer be prevented?

As the causes of this type of cancer are inevitable, there is no specific method to prevent it. However, it has been shown that orchidopexy, surgery to lower and fix the undescended testicle into the scrotum, can prevent the development of testicular cancer in boys with croptorchidism (incomplete descent of a testicle into the scrotum).

Read Now 👉  Removal of facial fillers

What is the treatment of testicular cancer?

This type of cancer has a cure rate of more than 90% if localized and treated in time. There are several treatments that are chosen depending on the stage of the tumor:

  • Stage I: as this type of tumor affects only the testicle, surgery to remove it is usually sufficient in most cases, although in others treatment with chemo or radiotherapy may be needed to reduce the risk.
  • Stage II: also affects the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The treatment of choice is chemotherapy.
  • Stage III: if the prognosis is favorable, the patient receives three cycles of chemotherapy and, if it is intermediate or unfavorable, treatment is based on four cycles and, in some cases, other alternatives may be given, such as high-dose chemotherapy with the help of bone marrow progenitors.