UK testicular cancer survival rates top 96 percent

A new report from Cancer Research UK has demonstrated the strong progress that has been made in improving testicular cancer survival rates over the last few decades.

According to data from the organisation, more than 96 percent of men who contract the disease now survive it, compared to less than 70 percent in the 1970s, thanks largely to the emergence of the drug cisplatin, which Cancer Research UK helped to develop.

Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said more needs to be done to save as many patients as possible from the disease, while also creating treatments that have fewer adverse effects.

He added: "It's only by doing more research that we can bring forward the day when we are able to beat all types of cancer."

It is estimated that 2,300 cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK and it remains the most common cancer in men aged between 15 and 49, but is no longer considered as dangerous as it once was.

Men affected by undescended testicle – a condition in which one or both testicles have not moved down into the scrotum – are more susceptible to the disease than others.