Testicular Cancer: A Prototypic Tumor of Young Adults

Abstract

Testicular cancer is the most common solid tumor among males in the 20-39 year-old age range. Moreover, testicular cancer has unique biological associations, clinical features, and psychosocial impacts that establish this tumor as a prototypic malignancy of young adults. The biology of testicular germ cell tumors after puberty is distinctive. Epidemiologic patterns of testicular cancer suggest etiologic factors that may be congenital, racial, and geographic. The clinical management of a cancer common among young adults, but rare among adults in general, requires expertise so as not to jeopardize the high rates of survivorship associated with modern therapy. The concurrent but separate development of staging, prognostic systems and treatment recommendations, between the fields of pediatric and adult oncology, highlight the need for increased integration and cooperation across these subspecialties. And the high rate of survival, combined with the need for long term monitoring for relapse or late effects, demonstrates the challenge of delivering longitudinal care in this mobile and active young adult population.

Survival and toxicity in patients with disseminated germ cell cancer aged 40 years and older

“…1 With cisplatin-based chemotherapy, 2 most patients with GCC will be long-term survivors, and their 5-year survival rate exceeds 90%. 3 However, it has recently been demonstrated that patients aged 40 years have a 2-fold higher GCC-specific mortality, 4 and it is hypothesized that reduced treatment intensity combined with increased treatmentrelated toxicity in this age group may be the explanation.…”

Embyronal Carcinoma of Testis Metastatic to Ciliary Body Presenting as Spontaneous Hyphema and Painful Secondary Glaucoma

“…This type of testicular germ cell cancer is generally regarded as the most common cancer that occurs in men between the ages of 20 years and 40 years. 5 Tumors of this type are frequently hemorrhagic both clinically and pathologically. Microscopically, these tumors consist of cells that tend to be large and appear poorly differentiated or undifferentiated (embryonic).…”

AXIN1 protects against testicular germ cell tumors via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway

“…Despite this, the 5-year disease-free survival of patients with TGCTs is the highest amongst any other solid malignancy in males due to effective modern therapy, including platinum-based combination chemotherapy regimens, and close surveillance following surgery. In addition, the cure rate for patients with TGCTs is 95-96% (4,5). However, ~5% of patients with TGCTs still develop treatment resistance (6).…”