Do Undescended Testes Predict Testicular Cancer?

To lower risk for testicular cancer, orchiopexy should be performed at a young age.

In 2007, an estimated 8000 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. Despite the small number of patients affected, this epithelial neoplasm has particular prominence, as it is almost exclusively a disease of young men.

Treatment of this cancer was an early success story more than 2 decades ago; however, the etiology of testicular cancer remains elusive. A significant increase (2- to 8-fold) in risk for developing this neoplasm is associated with a history of cryptorchidism, but whether cryptorchidism and testicular cancer have a common cause or whether undescended testes are themselves a cause of testicular cancer is unknown. In addition, although orchiopexy typically is performed on children with persistent undescended t…

Reviewing Author

Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, FACP