Survival from testicular cancer in England and Wales up to 2001

Testicular cancer has a peak incidence at around 30 years of age, and it is the most common cancer in men under 35 years of age, accounting for a third of all cancers in that age range ( Adami et al, 1994 ). The age distribution is unusual among adult malignancies, with almost 70% of cases arising in men under 40 years of age, and only about 2% in men over 70 years of age. Incidence has increased steadily in many developed countries over the last 50 years, including the United Kingdom ( Coleman et al, 1993 ; Richiardi et al, 2004 ). In men under 50 years of age, incidence has risen almost two-fold in England and Wales in the last 30 years, but the increase has been much smaller among older men ( Quinn et al, 2001 ).