Treatment options for
testicular cancer

Different types of treatment are available for patients with testicular cancer

Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials

A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer

Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment

Surgery

Radiation therapy

Chemotherapy 

Watchful waiting

High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant

Surgery to remove the testicle (radical inguinal orchiectomy) and some of the lymph nodes may be done at diagnosis and staging

Tumors that have spread to other places in the body may be partly or entirely removed by surgery

Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left

Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing

External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer

Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer

The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing

When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy)

When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy)

The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated

Watchful waiting is closely monitoring a patient’s condition without giving any treatment until symptoms appear or change

This is also called observation

High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant is a method of giving high doses of chemotherapy and replacing blood -forming cells destroyed by the cancer treatment

Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored

After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion

These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body’s blood cells

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