Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.
In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man’s risk of testicular cancer is roughly 1 in 250 (0.4%). It is the most common cancer in males aged 20–39 years, the period of peak incidence, and is rarely seen before the age of 15 years.
Testicular cancer has one of the highest cure rates of all cancers: in excess of 90 percent overall; almost 100 percent if it has not spread (metastasized). Even for the relatively few cases in which malignant cancer has spread widely, modern chemotherapy offers a cure rate of at least 80%.
Not all lumps on the testicles are tumors, and not all tumors are malignant (cancerous). There are many other conditions, such astesticular microlithiasis, epididymal cysts, and appendix testis (hydatid of Morgagni), which may be painful but are non-cancerous.