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Mr Walter Cazzaniga
The Royal Marsden
What are the stages of testicular cancer?
Mr Walter Cazzaniga explains the four stages of testicular cancer and how stage affects treatment options and outcomes. He describes when radical orchidectomy may be curative and when chemotherapy or further surgery is needed, with early diagnosis emphasised in this video.
Transcript
There are four stages to testicular cancer, from stage 1 to stage 4.
Patients diagnosed with stage 1 disease normally have a tumour only localised to the testes, while patients with stage 4 disease have more widespread disease in different organs.
The outcomes for treatment are better for earlier stages, therefore an earlier diagnosis is important.
The treatment options are different.
If you have a stage 1 disease, a radical orchidectomy, so a surgical procedure to remove the testicle can be curative, whilst if you have a more advanced disease, you will need chemotherapy and potentially surgery after chemotherapy.
The outcome of treatment for testicular cancer across stages have improved and are overall good, and this is especially important given the type of population that's normally affected.