Testicular tumours

Contrary to what is often assumed, testicular cancer does not only affect old men. Rather, the average age of patients ranges between 20 and 35 years. Testicular tumours only make up a small portion of all tumours, accounting for 1-2%. At this point, it should be mentioned that advances in medicine and the standardisation of treatment methods have made it possible for more than 90% of all affected patients to fully recover.

The typical symptom of testicular tumours is still a painless lump in the scrotum/testicle.

Risk factors for testicular tumours include:

• Retained testis
• Hereditary disposition (increased risk in first-degree relatives)
• History of testicular tumour on the opposite side
• Infertility

About 5% of all testicular tumours are benign. The 95% of malignant tumours can be classified into two groups:

• Seminomatous tumours
• Non-seminomatous tumours

For the further treatment following the diagnosis, the non-seminomatous tumours are classified into further sub-groups.

In a small portion of the patients, the tumour originates from the germ cells and is not located in the testicles. These germ cell tumours may occur in the retroperitoneal space, less commonly in the thorax, and are thus usually only detected in the later course of the disease.