OBJECTIVES: Testicular cancer represents about 1% of malignant tumors in men. Of these tumors 95% are germ cell tumors (GCTs), which have a maximum incidence between the second and third decades of life. Our objective was to carry out a retrospective analysis of testicular tumor cases that had been diagnosed in our Health Area between the years 2000 and 2010. METHODS: We performed a retrospective descriptive study between the years 2000 and 2010 analyzing 43 patients treated for testicular cancer, including in the analysis tumor incidence, the patient's age, clinic attended, patient's time until appointment, presence of tumor markers, patient's time before treatment, use of testicular prostheses, histological type and their typical characteristics, oncological treatment, tumor progression and mortality rate. RESULTS: We found an incidence of 4-5 cases/100,000 population/year in our Health Area. Two-thirds of the cases were detected in Stage I, and 100% of these cases showed complete remission. Among those with higher stage tumors, two out of three patients were cured after chemotherapy. For the remaining one-third, rescue treatments managed to achieve a remission rate of 66%. Mortality was low and was linked to lymphoma or metastatic dissemination. CONCLUSION: The trend towards early diagnosis with detection during the initial cancer stages, together with current chemotherapy protocols, enables a high cure rate for testicular cancer. Mortality in our series was associated with primary or secondary lymphomas.
OBJECTIVES:Testicular cancer represents about 1% of malignant tumors in men. Of these tumors 95% are germ cell tumors (GCTs), which have a maximum incidence between the second and third decades of life. Our objective was to carry out a retrospective analysis of testicular tumor cases that had been diagnosed in our Health Area between the years 2000 and 2010. METHODS: We performed a retrospective descriptive study between the years 2000 and 2010 analyzing 43 patients treated for testicular cancer, including in the analysis tumor incidence, the patient's age, clinic attended, patient's time until appointment, presence of tumor markers, patient's time before treatment, use of testicular prostheses, histological type and their typical characteristics, oncological treatment, tumor progression and mortality rate. RESULTS: We found an incidence of 4-5 cases/100,000 population/year in our Health Area. Two-thirds of the cases were detected in Stage I, and 100% of these cases showed complete remission. Among those with higher stage tumors, two out of three patients were cured after chemotherapy. For the remaining one-third, rescue treatments managed to achieve a remission rate of 66%. Mortality was low and was linked to lymphoma or metastatic dissemination. CONCLUSION: The trend towards early diagnosis with detection during the initial cancer stages, together with current chemotherapy protocols, enables a high cure rate for testicular cancer. Mortality in our series was associated with primary or secondary lymphomas.