Testicular cancer starts in the testicles, and almost all types of testicular cancer stages begin in the germ cells. The two types of tumors of testicular germ cells are seminomas and nonseminomas. Nonseminomas multiply and grow more rapidly than seminomas, which are more radiation-sensitive types of cancers.
The diagnosis and testicular cancer stages are based on health history, including an undescended testicle. This condition develops the risk of growing testicular cancer.
Other factors impacting the risk are
- Abnormal testicle development,
- Having a testicular cancer family history (mainly in the brother or the father)
- Being white.
The condition is mostly seen in young and middle-aged men, and it is among the most common cancer forms in 20 to 35-year-old men. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) suggests it is treatable and often curable in early testicular cancer stages.
The NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and the End Results (SEER) Program also estimates that in 2021, 9,460 men in the U.S. got diagnosed with testicular cancer, and up to 95 percent of the diagnosed have a five-year survival rate. Thus, testicular cancer awareness month encourages people to get checked and be aware of all the symptoms and testicular cancer stages.
Importance Of Testicular Cancer Awareness Month
The testicular cancer month for awareness is in April. The ACCR aims to prevent and cure all types of cancers and lets people know about testicular cancer stages.
Cancer Month Encourages Self-Examination
Testicular cancer was recently diagnosed in around 10,000 men in the U.S. in 2020, with the possibility of a large number in a focused group of 20 to 35 years old when all men were examined.
The organized events around the Testicular Cancer Awareness Month inspire men in that age group to take the necessary steps.
Related Topic :- OVARIAN CANCER: TYPES, ICD – 10, SIGNS, & RISK FACTORS
It Simplifies Treatment
Testicular Cancer Awareness Month is vital to simplify the treatment processes with knowledge about all testicular cancer stages. With holidays, men were informed and made comfortable that it is the most common cancer type diagnosed in men with a high success rate for treatment.
It Is Vital To Report Progress
Five standard treatment processes for men identified with testicular cancer in different testicular cancer stages. It includes surgery, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant, and high-dose chemotherapy. However, many organizations are actively researching further treatment processes. The testicular Cancer Awareness Month serves as an occasion to speed up progress in this area.
Dates Of Testicular Cancer Awareness Month
| Day | Date | Year |
| Friday | 1st April | 2022 |
| Saturday | 1st April | 2023 |
| Monday | 1st April | 2024 |
| Tuesday | 1st April | 2025 |
| Wednesday | 1st April | 2026 |
Symptoms And Risk Factors
Some testicular cancer risk factors are:
- Congenital disabilities: congenital abnormalities in the penis, kidneys, or the testicles
- Previous testicular cancer – men with cancer in their other testicle
- Testicular cancer family history – men with father and brother had such disease
- Undescended testicle (cryptorchidism) – a testicle that doesn’t reach the scrotum from birth.
Some common symptoms are
- A testicle that is larger and different,
- Heavy feeling in the scrotum,
- The lower back, abdomen, or groin has a dull ache,
- Aches or pain in the scrotum and the testicle,
- A swelling or lump in the testicle without any pain
- Scrotum filled with fluid
- Scrotum feels heavy
- A dull ache in the lower back, groin, and the lower abdomen
When a man has heaviness, pain, and growth in other scrotum and testicle changes, he should consult a doctor. The doctor then orders a blood test, biopsy, or ultrasound to assess his health.
When testicular cancer is present, the doctor orders more scans to determine whether testicular cancer stages are prominent or not.
Stages Of Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer stages tell you about the size of the tumor or whether it has spread to other body parts or not. Doctors generally go for the TNM staging system based on four information pieces.
- The extent and size of the tumor (T): The tumor size. Did it reach nearby structures?
- Spread to nearby lymph nodes (N): Did cancer reach nearby lymph nodes? How many are there, and what is their size?
- Metastasis (cancer spread) to distant sites (M): Did the cancer cells reach further in the body? (The common spread sites are distant lymph nodes, bones, lungs, and the liver).
- The blood (serum) tumor level markers (S): Are the market levels of tumor more than normal? It has lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-fetoprotein, and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).
The T, N, M, and S letters or numbers offer more details about all these factors for testicular cancer stages. Higher numbers would mean that the cancer is an advanced one. After determining the T, N, M, and S categories, the information is combined in a staging process known as stage grouping to assign testicular cancer stages.
The below-mentioned system is the recent AJCC system to stage germ cell tumors present after puberty and sex cord-stromal tumors (Sertoli cell tumors and Leydig cell tumors).
Depending on the physical exam, imaging tests, and biopsy outcomes, you can provide testicular cancer stages with a clinical T category (written as CT). After the surgery, the pathologic T category is determined after examining the operated tissue.
Here we classify testicular cancer stages:
Stage 0 – group pTis N0 M0 S0 – The cancer is present inside the seminiferous tubules (small tubes inside a testicle). It didn’t grow into other testicle parts (pTis). It didn’t spread to any surrounding lymph nodes (N0) or distant body parts (MO), and all tumor marker levels are within usual limits (S0) for these testicular cancer stages.
Stage 1 – pT1 – pT4 N0 M0 SX – In such testicular cancer stages, the tumor is beyond seminiferous tubules and might have reached the outside testicle within the surrounding structures (pT1 – pT4). Cancer didn’t reach nearby lymph nodes (N0) or distant body parts (M0). The tumor marker test outcomes aren’t there, or no tests are there (SX).
Stage IA – pT1 N0 M0 S0 – Suggests that the tumor reached beyond seminiferous tubules but lies within the testicle, and it didn’t make way into the surrounding lymph nodes or the blood vessels (pT1). It didn’t spread to lymph nodes nearby (N0) or distant body parts (M0). All tumor marker levels are within normal limits in such testicular cancer stages (S0).
Stage IB – pT2 – pT4 N0 M0 S0 – The tumor is present outside or inside the testicles and nearby structures (pT2 to pT4) for these testicular cancer stages. Cancer didn’t spread to the lymph nodes nearby (N0) or distant body parts (M0). All marker levels are within their limits (S0).
Stage IS – Any pT (or TX) N0 M0 S1 – S3 – Tumor might or might not have grown outside the testicle, or the tumor can’t be present (TX) in these testicular cancer stages. Cancer didn’t spread to nearby lymph nodes (N0). At least a tumor marker level is more than normal.
Stage II – Any pT (or TX) – The tumor can or cannot be out of the testicle (any pT), or it is not possible to assess testicular cancer stages for some reason. Cancer reached one or more lymph nodes nearby (N1 – N3) but didn’t spread to distant body parts.
Stage IIA – Any pT (or TX) N1 M0 S0 or S1 – A tumor did or didn’t grow outside the testicle, or it is not possible to assess the tumor extent for some reason. When checked with surgery, the cancer is present in at least one lymph node nearby (but not up to 5 when checked with surgery. No lymph nodes are more than 2 cm. For these testicular cancer stages, cancer didn’t move to distant parts. All marker levels are within normal limits, or at least one marker is slightly more than normal.
Stage IIB – is for any pT (or TX N2 M0 S0 or S1) – The tumor did or did not grow outside the testicle (any pT), or it is not possible to assess the tumor extent for any reason (TX). The cancer spreads to at least a nearby lymph node more than 2 cm, but it is not larger than 5 cm across. Or it grows outside of a lymph node, or up to 5 nodes have cancer. It didn’t spread to distant body parts (M0). All the tumor marker levels are within normal limits (S0), or at least one tumor marker level is more for the testicular cancer stages.
Stage IIC – is for any pT (or TX) N3 M0 S0 or S1 – The tumor did or did not grow outside the testicle, or it is impossible to find its extent. Cancer reaches at least one lymph node nearby, and its size is up to 5 cm. In IIIC testicular cancer stages, cancer didn’t move to distant body parts. All marker levels are within normal limits (S0), or at least a tumor marker level is more than normal (S1).
Stage III – Any pT (for the TX) Any N M1 SX – In stage 3 testicular cancer, the tumor might or might not have grown outside the testicle (Any pT), or it is not possible to assess its extent. It didn’t reach the surrounding lymph nodes in the testicular cancer stages. (any N). It spreads to distant body parts> Tumor marker test results aren’t there, or no tests are done.
Stage IIIA – Any pT (or TX) or Any N M1a S0 S1 – In stage 3 testicular cancer, the tumor did or didn’t grow out of the testicle (any pT), or it is not possible to determine the tumor extent for some reason (TX). In the testicular cancer stages, cancer might or might not spread to nearby lymph nodes (any N). It spreads to distant lymph nodes or the lungs (M1a). All marker levels are within usual limits, or a minimum of one marker level is more than usual.
Stage IIIB – Any pT (or TX) N1 – N3 M0 S2 – The tumor might or might not have grown outside the testicle (any pT), or the tumor extent can’t be assessed for any reason (TX). Cancer reached one or more lymph nodes nearby. But it didn’t move to distant body parts (M0). At least a tumor marker level is more than normal (S2).
Or
Any pT (or TX) Any N M1a S2 – The tumor did or did not grow at the testicle’s outside. Or you can’t assess the tumor for any reason (TX). Cancer may or may not have moved lymph nodes nearby for the testicular cancer stages. It moved to the surrounding lymph nodes or the lungs. At least a tumor marker level is higher than normal.
Stage IIIC – Any pT (or TX) N1 – N3 M0 S3 – The tumor did or didn’t grow out of the testicle, or the tumor extent can’t be assessed for any reason (TX). Cancer moved to nearby lymph nodes, but it didn’t move to distant body parts (M0). At least a tumor marker is high (S3).
Or
Any pT (or TX) Any N M1a – The tumor can or cannot grow outside the testicle (any pT), or you can’t assess the tumor extent for some reason (TX). Cancer may or may not move to the surrounding lymph nodes. It reached distant lymph nodes or the lungs, and a minimum of one marker level is high.
Or
Stage IIIC – Any pT (or TX) Any N Mb1 Any S – The tumor may or may not grow out of the testicle, or the tumor extent isn’t possible to find due to a reason. In the testicular cancer stages, cancer might not have been present in nearby lymph nodes (any N). It moved to distant body parts other than the lungs or lymph nodes. Marker levels may or may not be more than normal.
Conclusion:
The testicular cancer month awareness is held to raise awareness about this particular type of cancer and the right information about the diagnosis and the most reliable treatment information. Early diagnosis is the key to survival, and the staging systems help determine testicular cancer stages and whether the condition is reversible or not. At University Cancer Centers, we take care of everything from diagnosis, treatment, and medical reimbursement with testicular cancer ICD 10 code, to holistic patient care. Our goal is to ensure treating cancer patients under the most experienced and expert supervision and embark on our way to new advancements in cancer research and development.
