The influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has affirmed draft guidelines floated in September that recommend against screening asymptomatic young men for testicular cancer.

On Tuesday, the USPSTF stood by guidelines supporting its original 2004 recommendation that there wasn't enough evidence to show routine screening for men without symptoms brought any benefit, because the disease is rare and has a high survival rate. The group also advised against self exams.

"Screening by self-examination or clinician examination is unlikely to offer meaningful health benefits, given the very low incidence and high cure rate of even advanced testicular cancer," the group said.
About 90 percent of all newly diagnosed cases are cured, regardless of disease stage, the task force said.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men aged 15 to 34, but it's still quite uncommon, with 5.4 cases per 100,000 men. In 2008, about 8,000 American men were diagnosed with the disease, and 380 died from it.

The group based its decision on a literature review, released in 2010, of 113 studies dealing with screening. The USPSTF said most studies came up short because they did not deal with asymptomatic men.

Information about the guidelines also appears in the April issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

More Industry Headlines