Testicular cancer survival rates

The survival statistics come from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and are based on patients who were diagnosed with testicular cancer between 1999 and 2007. There are some important points to note about these numbers:

• The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after being diagnosed with cancer. Many of these patients live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis. Five-year relative survival rates (such as the numbers below) take into account the fact that some patients with cancer will die from other causes and compare the observed survival with what would be expected for people without the cancer. This is a better way to see the impact of the cancer on survival.
• These numbers are based on patients treated several years ago. Although they are among the most current numbers we have available, improvements in treatment since then mean that the survival rates for people now being diagnosed with these cancers may be higher.
• Survival statistics can sometimes be useful as a general guide, but they may not accurately represent any one person's outlook. A number of other factors, including other tumor characteristics and a person's age and general health, can also affect outlook. Your doctor can tell you how these statistics may apply to you since he or she is familiar with the aspects of your particular situation.
• The SEER database does not divide survival rates by AJCC stage. Instead, this database divides cancers into the summary stages: localized, regional, and distant. Localized means that the cancer is only growing in the testicle. This includes most AJCC stage I tumors (stage 0 cancers are not included in these statistics). Regional means that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or tissues. This includes T4 tumors and cancers with lymph node spread (N1, N2, or N3). Distant means that the cancer has spread to organs or lymph nodes away from the tumor, such as all M1 cancers.

The 5-year relative survival rate for all men with this cancer is 95%. More than 190,000 men in the United States have survived testicular cancer.