Oncological disease of the testicles
Teaching lesson 6
Written by: Zdeňka Smejkalová, Jitka Slaná Reissmannová

Testicular cancer
•Testicles = testes
•Part of internal male genitals
•Egg-shaped pair organs
•The testicles are located in the scrotum
•Main functions
•Production of germ cells – sperm cells
•Production of sex hormone – testosterone
•
(1)
  Prostate
 Epididymis
Testicle
Erectile bodies
Scrotum
Penis
Urethra
Urinary bladder
Sperm ducts
Petr Koukal’s dream journey – video

Occurrence of testicular cancer
(2)


(3)
Testicular cancer is one of the most frequent neoplastic diseases in men aged 15-35 years!


Risk factors
•Cryptorchidism = undescended testicle
•The testicle is withheld in the inguinal canal or the abdominal cavity.
•If not descended within 6 months after birth, surgical treatment must be undergone.
•Treatment must take place within 18 months.
•Inheritance
•

Symptoms
•Irregularity, palpable lump, bumps on the testicle
•Changes in size
•Stiff or hard testicle
•Pain in the testicle, groin or lower abdomen
•Enlargement and swelling of the mammary glands
•Fatigue, lack of appetite, weight loss
•In case of any deviations from normal state, the physician must be consulted immediately!
Later stage of disease

Prevention
•Primary prevention
•Observing general principles of prevention of neoplastic diseases
•
•Secondary prevention
•Self-examination of testicles

Self-examination of testicles
•To be carried out regularly once a month.
•Should be performed after a warm bath or shower, palpation is easier and pain-free.
•
(4)

(5)
•First of all, visual examination is performed.
•Any changes in the scrotum skin are identified in the mirror.
•The skin should not be tight, reddish or darker compared with the previous examination.
•Both size and volume must be checked.
•
•Each testicle is palpated separately.
•The testicle should be grasped by both hands – index fingers and middle fingers should be
positioned under the testicle and the thumbs on the front side.
•The testicle is then gently turned between the fingers.
•

Self-examination of testicles – video
(6)
•It is important not to confuse a tumour and the epididymis.
•The epididymis is adjacent to the rear edge of the testicle.
•The same procedure is applied for the other testicle.
•
•
•TASK: On the picture identify the epididymis and the shape that could be a tumour.
Tumour
Epididymis

References
•Co jsou nádory varlat. Maskoule.cz [online]. c2010 [cit. 2018-05-06]. Retrieved from:
http://www.maskoule.cz/co-jsou-nadory-varlat/
•KLENER, Pavel. Klinická onkologie. Praha: Galen, 2002. ISBN 80-7262-151-3.
•PYCHOVÁ, Marcela, Jan TRACHTA a Luboš ZEMAN. Nesestouplé varle. Česká urologická společnost
[online]. 7. 4. 2015 [cit. 2018-05-06]. Retrieved from:
http://www.cus.cz/pro-pacienty/detska-urologie-2/nesestouple-varle/
•Figures:
•(1): Rozmnožovací soustava [online]. 2018 [cit. 2018-06-10]. Retrieved
from: http://docplayer.cz/6531963-Centralni-nervova-soustava-nervova-soustava-micha-mozek-centralni
-nervovou-soustavu-tvori-a.html
•(2), (3): Novotvary 2015 ČR [online]. Praha: Ústav zdravotnických informací a statistik ČR, 2015.
[cit. 30/04/2018]. Retrieved from: http://www.uzis.cz/publikace/novotvary-2015
•(4), (5), (6): SMEJKALOVÁ, Zdeňka a Jitka SLANÁ REISSMANNOVÁ. My se raka nebojíme aneb prevencí ke
zdraví. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2018. ISBN 978-80-210-9060-6.
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