Current Research

Research for testicular cancer is ongoing. The following advances may still be under investigation in clinical trials and may not be approved or available at this time. Always discuss all diagnostic and treatment options with your doctor.

Since many men with testicular cancer are treated successfully, one of the major goals for the future is to reduce side effects and complications from treatment for men with early-stage or favorable-risk cancers. In addition, treatments for poor-risk and recurrent cancers are being studied in clinical trials, along with basic research studies on the causes and genetics of testicular cancer.

High-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplantation. Higher doses of chemotherapy can result in remission (temporary or permanent absence of symptoms) of recurrent testicular cancer. A stem cell transplant is a medical procedure in which diseased bone marrow is replaced by highly specialized cells, called hemotopoietic stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells are found both in the bloodstream and in the bone marrow. For testicular cancer, a man’s own stem cells are obtained before high-dose chemotherapy is given. After chemotherapy, blood stem cells are infused into the patient’s vein to replace the bone marrow and restore normal blood counts. Despite many studies, this has never been shown to be better than either the standard chemotherapy combination of BEP for first-line therapy for patients with poor-risk disease or the standard chemotherapy regimen of vinblastine, ifosfamide and cisplatin for men who relapse after BEP. Additional clinical trials are being done to investigate whether changes in high-dose chemotherapy can produce better results.

Genetic studies. Researchers are analyzing the DNA from tumor samples of men with testicular cancer to determine if any genes are associated with testicular cancer. In addition, there are studies underway to examine possible inherited genetic factors leading to cryptorchidism and risk of testicular cancer.

Quality of life. Because more men are surviving testicular cancer, doctors are exploring the long-term effects of high-dose chemotherapy on brain function, such as memory loss, decreased speed of processing information, lowered attention span, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Other studies focus on sperm quality and heart disease risk for testicular cancer survivors.

To find clinical trials specific to your diagnosis, talk with your doctor or search online clinical trial databases now.