City of Hope brings together highly skilled and advanced resources to manage the treatment of patients with testicular cancer. Our multidisciplinary team includes urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and surgical oncologists working cooperatively to create the most effective treatment plan.
City of Hope surgeons are among the most experienced in the country and have excellent success rates using a range of advanced technologies.
Whenever possible, our testicular cancer patients are treated with minimally invasive techniques. These include laparoscopic surgery, which is performed using thin, flexible instruments that are inserted through small “keyhole” incisions.
City of Hope is also a leader in applying the new robotic-assisted da Vinci S Surgical System. Controlled by an experienced surgeon, the system combines extremely precise movements with three-dimensional imaging to achieve excellent surgical results.
Potential benefits of minimally invasive surgeries include:
- Less blood loss, pain and visible incisions
- Shorter hospital stays and recovery time
- Fewer post-operative complications
- Quicker return to normal activities
Surgical Procedures
- Radical inguinal orchietomy
In nearly all of cases of suspected testicular cancer, the affected testicle is removed through an incision in the groin in a surgical procedure called radical inguinal orchietomy. Men may be concerned that losing a testicle will affect their ability to have sexual intercourse or make them sterile (unable to produce children). However, a man with one healthy testicle can still have a normal erection and produce sperm.
The type of tumor subsequently identified on the pathology report combined with information gathered from X-rays or blood tests then directs subsequent treatment.
- Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND)
A urological surgeon performs this operation to remove the lymph nodes surrounding the great vessels in the abdomen. A pathologist then examines the lymph nodes under a microscope to determine whether the cancer has spread.
Radiation is a form of energy that has long been used to treat many kinds of cancers. In testicular cancer, radiation may be given to relieve pain, in combination with chemotherapy, or after surgery to minimize the risk of recurrence. Treatments in which beams of energy are directed at the tumor from an outside source are referred to as external beam radiation.
At City of Hope, external beam radiation treatments may include:
Considered the most advanced radiation therapy available, helical TomoTherapy allows doctors to target and destroy cancer cells very precisely while sparing healthy tissues nearby.
Chemotherapy – the use of anticancer medicines – includes a wide range of drugs and treatment strategies to treat small intestine cancer. City of Hope provides both standard chemotherapies as well as access to newly developed drugs through an extensive program of clinical trials.
As part of the treatment team, a medical oncologist will evaluate the best options, so that a course of chemotherapy, if appropriate, can be tailored to the patient.