What is testicular cancer?

Testicular cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the testicles. This disease is not common in clinical practice. For male friends, the testicles are the so-called lifeblood. It plays a vital role in male fertility and directly affects male sexual function. This shows how important it is. Next, I will introduce to you what testicular cancer is.

Testicular cancer occurs in testicular tissue, has a complex pathological origin, and is relatively rare clinically, accounting for about 1% of all male malignant tumors. The main incidence population is young men in their fertility peak, so it has a relatively large impact on society. However, the cure rate of testicular cancer is very high, with a survival rate of 95% or even higher. Therefore, in the field of oncology, testicular cancer is a very important malignant tumor.

The cause of testicular cancer is still unknown, and it is currently believed that its onset is related to both genetic and acquired factors. Among them, cryptorchidism is the most closely related. The chance of developing tumors in cryptorchidism is 10 to 14 times greater than that in normal people, and cryptorchidism in the abdominal cavity is more likely than in the groin.

Testicular tumors are divided into germ cell tumors, non-germ cell tumors and testicular secondary tumors. Germ cell tumors are the most common. Germ cell tumors are divided into seminoma, non-seminoma (embryocarcinoma; teratoma; choriocarcinoma, etc.) and mixed germ cell tumors. Non-germ cell tumors are divided into Leydig cell tumors, Sertoli cell tumors, gonadal stromal tumors and mixed tumors.

The most common symptom is a gradual, painless enlargement of the testicles with a feeling of heaviness. The enlarged testicles of seminoma often maintain the testicular contour and have a consistent texture, while teratoma is nodular and has inconsistent hardness and softness. About 10% of patients feel pain due to intratesticular bleeding or infarction, and 10% of patients may have metastatic symptoms, such as large retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, compression of nerve roots, back pain, lung metastasis may cause cough and dyspnea, duodenal metastasis may cause anorexia, nausea and vomiting, bone metastasis may cause bone pain, etc. Testicular Leydig cell tumor should be considered when children have testicular masses and symptoms of precocious puberty, or adults have gynecomastia and loss of libido.