Testicular cancer in Europe and the USA: survival still rising among older patients

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Abstract
Despite high curability, some testicular cancer (TC) patient groups may have increased mortality. We provide a detailed age- and histology-specific comparison of population-based relative survival of TC patients in Europe and the USA. Using data from 12 European cancer registries and the USA Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results 9 database, we report survival trends for patients diagnosed with testicular seminomas and nonseminomas between 1993–1997 and 2003–2007. Additionally, a model-based analysis was used to compare survival trends and relative excess risk (RER) of death between Europe and the USA adjusting for differences in age and histology. In 2003–2007, the 5-year relative survival of patients with testicular seminoma was at least 98% among those aged <50 years, survival of patients with nonseminoma remained 3%–6% units lower. Despite improvements in the relative survival of nonseminoma patients aged ≥50 years by 13%–18% units, survival remained markedly lower than the survival of seminoma patients of the same age. Model-based analyses showed increased RERs for nonseminomas, older, and European patients. There remains little room for survival improvement among testicular seminoma patients, especially for those aged <50 years. Older TC patients remain at increased risk of death, which seems mainly attributable to the lower survival among the nonseminoma patients.
Funding Information
  • René Vogels Association
  • German Cancer Aid
  • Deutsche Krebshilfe (108257))

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