The cardinal diagnostic finding in the patient with testis cancer is a mass in the substance of the testis. Unilateral enlargement of the testis with or without pain in the adolescent or young adult male should raise concern for testis cancer.
An incorrect diagnosis is made at the initial examination in up to 25% of patients with testicular tumors and may result in delay in treatment or a suboptimal approach (scrotal incision) for exploration.
- Epididymitis or epididymoorchitis
- Hematocele
- Varicocele
The differential diagnosis of testicular cancer requires examining the histology of tissue obtained from an inguinal orchiectomy specimen. Orchiectomy, rather than transcrotal biopsy, is preferred to reduce the risk of spill and thus the risk of metastasis, in the event that the tumor is malignant. For orchiectomy, an inguinal surgical approach is preferred.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Testicular cancer"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.