Doctors urged to help men combat cancer side-effects

Men treated for testicular cancer may face serious long-term side-effects, researchers have warned.

Professor Sophie Fossa and colleagues at Oslo University, Norway, looked at findings from 40 studies published between 1990 and 2008.

They explain: "Patients with testicular cancer are at risk of having severe short-term and life-threatening long-term effects."

During treatment, patients can suffer mental distress, gastrointestinal disturbance, and haematological, infectious and thromboembolic complications.

The potential long-term effects include second cancers, heart disease, and gonadal dysfunction. "Nevertheless, 70 per cent of patients who attempt paternity after treatment are successful," they write in the urology journal BJUI.

About one in five patients develop long-term nervous system or ear damage, but surprisingly, survivors report similar health-related quality of life as the general population.

"Risk-adapted treatment of patients with testicular cancer and adequate follow-up of those at risk of life-threatening toxicity are ways to reduce the short- and long-term morbidity in survivors," the experts write.

"Patients should be informed about these potential complications and the importance of adjusting their lifestyle (e.g. smoking habits, physical activity and weight control)."

Professor Fossa added: "Current patients with testicular cancer should be informed about the risk of short-term and particularly long-term side-effects of their highly effective treatment.

"It is important to focus on reducing risks through healthy lifestyle choices and consider important issues like preserving future fertility. We would also like to see screening guidelines developed to ensure that the long-term side-effects are diagnosed and treated as early as possible."

Fossa, S. D., Oldenburg, J. and Dahl, A. A. Short and long-term morbidity after treatment for testicular cancer. BJUI, Vol. 104, November 2009, pp. 1418-22.