Testicular Cancer

The average age of men diagnosed with spermatocytic seminoma is about 55, which is 10 to 15 years older than the average age of men with typical seminomas. Nonseminomas are the germ cell cancers that tend to develop earlier in life than seminomas, usually occurring in men between their late teens and early 40s. The main types of nonseminomas are embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, and teratoma. These tumors are much more challenging than seminomas are to the effects of radiotherapy.
             Tumors can also arise in the supportive and hormone-producing tissues, or stroma, of the testicles, such tumors are known as gonadal stromal tumors. They account for less than 4% of adult testicle tumors and up to 20% of childhood testicular tumors. The 2 main types are Leydig cell tumors and Sertoli cell tumors. Other types are called secondary testicular tumors are those that start in another organ and then spread to the testicle. Lymphoma is the most common secondary testicular cancer. Among men over 50 years of age, testicular lymphoma is more common than primary testicular tumors. The usual treatment is surgical removal, followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. In children with acute leukemia, the leukemia cells can sometimes form a tumor in the testicle. Cancers of the prostate, lung, skin, kidney, and other organs can spread to the testicles.
             There causes of testicular cancer are not known, but there are some studies that show factors that increase a man chance of getting cancer. One sign may be men with undescended testicle(s), which is when the testicle(s) does not descend into the scrotum at birth. Another is when men have abnormal testicular development. Another is when men have klinefelter's syndrome. Linefelter's syndrome is a sex chromosome disorder that may be characterized by low levels of male hormones, sterility, breast enlargement, and small testes. Another is having a history of testicular cancer.