A 20-Year Epidemiological Review of Testis Cancer at a French Military Hospital.

Abstract

To determine if the epidemiology of testis cancer in military service has followed worldwide trends and if the end of conscription in 2000 in France marked an epidemiologic turn. All of the patients who had an orchiectomy for a testis germ tumor from January 1990 to January 2011 were studied. The patients were divided into two groups: orchiectomy before 2000 and after 2000. 289 patients were included, with a mean age of 30.8. The mean age at diagnosis increased significantly as well as the proportion of stage 1 seminomas, whereas stage 1 nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) slightly decreased. For stage 1 seminomas, there was an increase in the surveillance (10% vs. 31%) and in the number of chemotherapies (19% vs. 22%); for stage 1 NSGCT, surveillance also increased (53% vs. 64%). The specific 5-year survival was 98.3%. We noted an increase in the number of stage 1 seminomas, the surveillance of located germ tumors, and an excellent survival rate. However, the population was younger with regard to national data, and the number of stage 1 NSGCT decreased in favor of advanced metastatic tumors.