Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Testicular tumours 

Testicular tumours
Chapter:
Testicular tumours
Author(s):

Olof Ståhl

, Jakob Eberhard

, and Aleksander Giwercman

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780199235292.003.9089
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2021. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 24 July 2021

Testicular cancer and the problems of male hypogonadism and infertility are closely related to each other—from a clinical as well as a biological point of view. Thus, men previously treated for testicular cancer are more and more frequently seen among patients referred to infertility clinics. This is due to the fact that:

◆ the survival rate among young testicular cancer patients is very high, being close to 95%, and the quality of life—including gonadal function—plays an important role in the men who have been cured

◆ there is an increasing knowledge that testicular function—both spermatogenesis and androgen production—in men with germ cell cancer is severely impaired. Recent research indicates a common prenatal cause of these pathologies of reproductive system

◆ modern techniques of assisted reproduction, particularly intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), have made it possible to obtain fertilization even when using ejaculates of extremely poor quality. This option has improved the possibility of cancer treated men becoming fathers. However, a source of potential worry is possible sperm DNA damage related to cancer and its treatment

◆ testicular germ cell cancer is more common in men presenting with poor semen quality. Thus, when investigating a man for infertility he should be assessed as to whether he belongs to a high-risk group for which a proper screening procedure should be offered (see below)

Apart from this clinical link between testicular cancer and male infertility, there are also some indications of common biological factors involved in aetiology and pathogenesis. In this chapter some basic biological aspects of testicular cancer will be described. In Chapter 9.5.1 the hypothesis linking a rise of gonadal malignancy and poor testicular function is explained in more detail.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.