UK Testicular Cancer mortality statistics

In 2007 there were 58 deaths from testicular cancer in the UK; 46 in England, 4 in Wales, 8 in Scotland, and none in Northern Ireland.( Table 2.1) 1-3 The overall UK death rate age-standardised was 0.2 per 100,000.

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Most of the deaths occurred between the ages of 30-49 years, although 12 deaths occurred in males under 30 years old. ( Figure 2.1). 1-3

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Figure 2.2 shows the testicular cancer mortality trends from 1971 to 2007.

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The introduction of platinum-based chemotherapy in the 1970s resulted in a dramatic fall in the death rate in the UK and other westernised countries.

Such falls in mortality following the introduction of effective treatment are seen in most developed countries, but not all at the same time, due to the inequitable distribution of resources and expertise between countries. 4

Mortality began to decline earlier in the USA than in the EU, and rates in Eastern Europe did not begin to decline until the late 1980s, resulting in the ‘avoidable’ deaths of several hundred young men each year. 5 The Japanese incidence and mortality rates are relatively low compared with the USA and Europe 6, but they also benefited from improved treatment: the mortality rate fell by 43% in Japanese testicular cancer patients aged 20-44 between 1975-79 and 1995-97. 7