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Testicular Cancer Statistics


What is testicular cancer?

Cancer that develops in a testicle is called testicular cancer or cancer of the testis. Usually only one testicle is affected, but in some cases both are affected. About 90 to 95 per cent of testicular cancers start in the cells that develop into sperm, which are known as germ cells.

You can access further information about testicular cancer, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is testicular cancer?

In 2021, 241 Victorian males were diagnosed with testicular cancer. Currently, testicular cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 6.5 per 100,000 males. The median age at diagnosis of testicular cancer is 33 years (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 0.7% of all cancers diagnosed and 0% of all cancer-related deaths in 2021, testicular cancer was the 19th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 36th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victorian males in 2021.


Figure 1: Distribution of testicular cancer incidence in 2021, by age groups

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)


Figure 2: Distribution of testicular cancer incidence in 2021, compared to the distribution of the Victorian population in 2021, by 5-year age brackets

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)

Testicular cancer morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused testicular cancer among all cases. Most testicular cancer tumours, 58.6%, present as Seminoma tumours.


Figure 4: Distribution of testicular cancer morphologies between 2012-2021

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)


Geographical variance in testicular cancer by local government area

Figure 5 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of testicular cancer, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of testicular cancer.


Figure 5: Variation in the incidence of testicular cancer for the period 2017-2021, by location of residence in Victoria

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)


Testicular cancer in people born overseas

Figure 6 shows the age standardised incidence rates of testicular cancer in Australian-born Victorian males compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate of 12 was observed in those born in the North America region and lowest rate of 1.2 was observed in people born in the Southern and Central Asia region.


Figure 6: Age standardised incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals for testicular cancer in Victorians born in Australia compared to Victorians born in other countries for the period 2017-2021


Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)



Testicular cancer five-year relative survival

Figure 7 shows the change in 5-year survival for testicular cancer, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for testicular cancer between 1986-1990 and 2016-2020 from 93% to 98%.

Figure 7: Trend in five year relative survival following diagnosis of testicular cancer in five year brackets, from the period 1986-1990 to 2016-2020

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2023)

This webpage was last updated in February 2023