Testicular tumors. Analysis of 196 cases treated at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego

An analysis of 196 cases of testicular tumors treated at the U.S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, between 1945 and 1965, are presented and compared with those of other recent series. Results are similar to those of other recent series, especially to U.S. Army series. Prognosis, influenced by the histology of the tumor, was poorer in patients with groups II, IV and V lesions than in those with groups I and III lesions. There was a parallel relationship of the effects of clinical stage, symptom duration and testicular size on the survival of patients with carcinoma (group II + IV) but not, within certain limits, with that of patients with seminoma (group I). This indicates that, for patients with carcinoma, the longer the delay in treatment, the larger will be the tumor and the greater will be the risks of metastasis and early death. Gynecomastia or testicular pain or the discovery of testicular tumor due to early metastasis also affected survival. Radical treatment of the potential sites of metastasis, whether by high volume‐dose 60Co irradiation alone or in combination with lymphadenectomy, greatly improved the survival of patients with carcinoma over that obtained by low‐dose x‐irradiation alone from 40 to 75% whereas moderate volume‐dose 60Co irradiation improved slightly the previously high results obtained in seminoma by x‐irradiation alone from 85 to 98%.