Testicular Cancer Treatment Options by Staging

Treatment Options by Stage

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Stage I Testicular Cancer

Treatment of stage I testicular cancer depends on whether the cancer is a seminoma or a nonseminoma.

Treatment of seminoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the testicle, with or without radiation therapy to lymph nodes in the abdomen after the surgery, with lifelong follow-up.
• Surgery to remove the testicle, followed by chemotherapy and lifelong follow-up.

Treatment of nonseminoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the testicle and lymph nodes in the abdomen, with lifelong follow-up.
• Surgery to remove the testicle, with lifelong follow-up.
• Surgery followed by chemotherapy for patients at high risk of recurrence, with lifelong follow-up.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI’s PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage I malignant testicular germ cell tumor. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage II Testicular Cancer

Treatment of stage II testicular cancer depends on whether the cancer is a seminoma or a nonseminoma.

Treatment of seminoma may include the following:

• When the tumor is 5 centimeters or smaller, treatment is usually surgery to remove the testicle followed by radiation therapy to lymph nodes in the abdomen and pelvis, with lifelong follow-up.
• When the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters, treatment is usually surgery to remove the testicle followed by combination chemotherapy or radiation therapy to lymph nodes in the abdomen and pelvis, with lifelong follow-up.

Treatment of nonseminoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the testicle and lymph nodes, with lifelong follow-up.
• Surgery to remove the testicle and lymph nodes, followed by combination chemotherapy and lifelong follow-up.
• Surgery to remove the testicle followed by combination chemotherapy and a second surgery if cancer remains, with lifelong follow-up.
• Combination chemotherapy before surgery to remove the testicle, for cancer that has spread and is thought to be life-threatening.
• A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy instead of removing the lymph nodes.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI’s PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage II malignant testicular germ cell tumor. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Stage III Testicular Cancer

Treatment of stage III testicular cancer depends on whether the cancer is a seminoma or a nonseminoma.

Treatment of seminoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the testicle followed by combination chemotherapy. Any tumor remaining after treatment will need lifelong follow-up.
• A clinical trial of a new therapy.
• A clinical trial of high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplant.

Treatment of nonseminoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the testicle, followed by combination chemotherapy.
• Combination chemotherapy followed by surgery to remove any remaining tumor. Additional chemotherapy may be given if the tumor tissue removed contains cancer cells that are growing.
• Combination chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy to the brain for cancer that has spread to the brain.
• Combination chemotherapy before surgery to remove the testicle, for cancer that has spread and is thought to be life-threatening.
• A clinical trial of a new therapy.
• A clinical trial of high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplant.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI’s PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage III malignant testicular germ cell tumor. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment Options for Recurrent Testicular Cancer

Treatment of recurrent testicular cancer may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• High-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow transplant.
• Surgery to remove cancer that has either:
  • come back more than 2 years after complete remission; or
  • come back in only one place and does not respond to chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of a new therapy.