Cancer Health Center
Understanding Testicular Cancer - the Basics
What Causes Testicular Cancer? continued...
Men with fertility problems are more likely to be diagnosed with testicular cancer and testicular cancer increases the risk of infertility. All men with fertility problems should be checked for cancer of the testicle.
Other suspected, but unproven, risk factors include a sedentary lifestyle, early puberty, previous mumps, testicular injury, elevated scrotal temperature, and overexposure to pesticides or radiation. Others suggest prenatal conditions with the man's mother during pregnancy could be a contributor as well, including abnormal bleeding, estrogen therapy, or taking diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy. DES was once given to pregnant women to prevent miscarriage but is no longer marketed in the U.S.
A few genetic disorders, including Klinefelter’s syndrome and Down’s syndrome, are associated with a risk of testicular cancer. Other rare conditions associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer include testicular feminization, true hermaphroditism, persistent mullerian syndrome, and cutaneous ichthyosis.
Noncancerous growths in the testicle are rare, so all masses should be assumed to be a cancer until proven otherwise.
WebMD Medical Reference
Experts are making great strides in treating cancer. But many of these advances apply only after the cancer has been diagnosed. Now the disease is about to come under attack with a revolutionary tool called a nanoshell. Learn how scientists hope the new technology will detect and destroy cancer cells sooner.
