Testicular cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. In the United States, about 8,000 to 9,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. Over his lifetime, a man's chance of getting testicular cancer is roughly 1 in 250 (four tenths of one percent, or 0.4%). It is most common among males aged 15-40 years. Testicular cancer has one of the highest cure rates of all cancers: in excess of 90%; essentially 100% if it has not spread. Even for the relatively few cases in which the cancer has spread widely, chemotherapy offers a cure rate of at least 85% today.

43-9F

• a sensitive immunohistochemical marker of CIS germ cells and may also be of potential value in detection of invasive testicular cancer. PMID: 2406007

AFP (alpha-fetoprotein)

• might be a useful marker for testicular tumor activity in patients with lower AFP levels. PMID: 15828957

AP-2gamma

• a novel marker of testicular CIS and CIS-derived tumors. PMID: 15623634

Metallothionein (MT)

• an useful marker to identify patient subgroups sensitive to anticancer therapy, at least in testis tumours. PPMID: 9064626