How rare?

[TrustHim]

How rare is having testical cancer twice?[SIZE=4)

[B]Is the injection better than the gel?[/B][SIZE=4]

[Michael112]

1 in 500(white males) chance of getting TC, then if you have it in one you have a 1 in 5 chance of getting it in the other, so 1 in 2500 chance of having TC in both.

Depends on the circumstance, typically gel is the 1st choice, if thats not going well you can switch to injections, although its usually completly upto the patient on what method they want, there are pellets also.

[Scott]

How rare is having testical cancer twice?

American Cancer Society statistics say that 1 in 280 men will develop testicular cancer in their lifetime. The TCRC says, "Patients who have been treated for cancer in one testicle have about a 3 percent chance of developing cancer in the remaining testicle."

[Eric]

Scott

When i had my RT in 2001 my onco told me that i had 1% chance of getting it in the remaining one. Last year i began to read a lot about 2%. This year i see now 3%. Where are the real numbers? Can it be different depending on which country you are?

[djmac]

Scott

When i had my RT in 2001 my onco told me that i had 1% chance of getting it in the remaining one. Last year i began to read a lot about 2%. This year i see now 3%. Where are the real numbers? Can it be different depending on which country you are?

Hey Eric,

I think the variations are due to differences in studies, and lengths of follow-up. The longer the follow-up for a particular study, the better the chance of a second TC.

However, I've read some studies that suggest that your chances of a second TC are much higher if:

1) You have significant microlithiasis in the survivor
2) You have low semen quality
3) You have an atrophic testicle (remaining)

If you have all three, your chances of getting a 2x start to look pretty good (up to 1 in 3!!!). On the other hand, if you have none of the above, your chances of getting it in the remaining testis are probably less than 1%.

A real key is the presence of CIS in the remaining testicle. Since we don't live in Europe, contralateral testis biopsy is rarely done... but if it were, the presence of CIS would be definitive. If you have it, chances approach 100% that you will get TC in your survivor, if you don't have it, chances are approximately 0% that you will get TC in the survivor.

Chemo actually decreases your chance of a second TC because it is pretty effective in killing CIS (as well as normal spermatogonia). So think back, if in your case you had near normal semen quality BEFORE your chemo, and no microlithiasis or atrophy, and then you had chemo, I would bet that your chance of a second TC are approximately nil.

Good Luck!

djm

[huckchef]

The gel works best for myself. I did the injections and there was alot of surge from the initial dosage and then alot of downs. I would shoot for the gel but it will cost more than the injections. (it's amazing how how these insurance companies work; mine Rx just went up to $50.00 every three weeks)

[Michael112]

Are you sure chemo kills CIS? surgeons always remove surrrounding tissue from most(all?) cancers then apply chemo, if chemo kills CIS whats the point of orchiectomy in stage 2 or 3 TC?


I dont think CIS has a 100% chance of turning into cancer. I forget the figure but I would imagine it being either something like 20% or 80%.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/j7x542680k2u6865/

Chemo can kill CIS but not always, 5% if TC patients have CIS in the other testicle, and 50% of the time that CIS will turn into cancer.

[Michael112]

Is adjuvent RT mandatory for Partial I/O?

[djmac]

Are you sure chemo kills CIS? surgeons always remove surrrounding tissue from most(all?) cancers then apply chemo, if chemo kills CIS whats the point of orchiectomy in stage 2 or 3 TC?

Chemo CAN kill CIS. Orchiectomy is for testicular mass in stage 2 or 3, NOT for CIS. Chemo isn't that effective across the blood/testis barrier, maybe effective enough for CIS, but not for a full blown TC