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Treatment depends on the type of tumor, the stage of the tumor, and the extent of the disease. Most patients can be cured.
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Once cancer is found, the first step is to determine the type of cancer cell. This determination is done by a microscopic exam. The cells can be seminoma or non-seminoma. If both types of seminoma and non-seminoma cells are found in a single tumor, the tumor is treated as a non-seminoma.
The next step is to determine how far it has spread to other parts of the body. This is called "staging."
- In Stage I, the cancer has not spread beyond the testicle.
- In Stage II, the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the abdomen.
- In Stage III, the cancer has spread beyond the lymph nodes; it could be as far as the liver or lungs.
There are three types of treatment that can be used.
- Surgical treatment includes removing the testicle (orchiectomy) and removal of associated lymph nodes (lymphadenectomy). This is usually performed in the case of both seminoma and non-seminoma testicular cancers
- Radiation therapy using high-dose X-rays or other high-energy rays may be used after surgery for patients with seminomas to prevent the tumor from returning. The use of radiation therapy is usually limited to the treatment of seminomas.
- Chemotherapy -- using drugs such as cisplatin, bleomycin, and etoposide to kill cancer cells -- has greatly enhanced the survival rate of both seminomas and non-seminomatous testicular tumors.
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