Testicular self-examination amongst genitourinary medicine clinic attendees

Abstract

Advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer now give a five-year survival rate of 97.2%. Delayed presentation remains the primary cause of poor outcome and recommendations have stressed that men, particularly those with risk factors, should undertake regular testicular self-examination. This study aimed to determine testicular self-examination knowledge and practices amongst 740 unselected men attending a genitourinary medicine clinic via questionnaire survey. Of respondents, 75.8% of men had heard of testicular cancer, and 79.9% had heard of testicular self-examination. Of these, 41% of men had been taught testicular self-examination; 73.9% of them by a doctor or nurse. Importantly, 79.2% had previously performed testicular self-examination. The most common reason for not performing testicular self-examination was 'Don't really know what to look for' (59.5%). Men previously taught testicular self-examination were 11.5 times more likely to perform the practice than those untaught. Of respondents, 74.1% wanted more information regarding testicular self-examination whilst attending the clinic. This study shows an increased level of testicular self-examination amongst genitourinary medicine attendees than has been previously demonstrated in other patient groups. There remains room for improvement via further health promotion and research on the effectiveness of testicular self-examination.