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deCODEme interprets the latest in genetic research to provide you with a personalized genetic risk assessment.

Testicular cancer is the focus of considerable ongoing research

Lance Armstrong and testicular cancer

Lance Edward Armstrong is an American professional road racing cyclist, famous for being the only person in history to win the highly competitive Tour de France in seven consecutive years (1999 to 2005). However, Lance Armstrong is also famous for having survived advanced testicular cancer, after which he committed himself to advancing cancer awareness and supporting cancer research through his Livestrong Foundation.

At the age of 25, when Lance´s cycling career was soaring, he had to drop out of the 1996 Tour de France after becoming ill. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with stage III testicular cancer. A young, active and otherwise healthy man, Lance had ignored the warning signs of testicular cancer and never imagined the seriousness of his condition. Going undiagnosed and untreated, the testicular cancer spread to Lance’s abdomen, lungs and brain. Immediate surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, were required to save his life.

Lance Armstrong benefited from the significant advances made in treatment for testicular cancer in recent years. His metastatic testicular cancer went into complete remission, and by January of 1998, within 2 years of his initial diagnosis he was already engaged in serious training for racing. The successful treatment and Lance´s competitive spirit allowed him to continue cycling, going on to the record-breaking seven consecutive Tour de France wins starting in 1999.

During Armstrong´s difficult treatment, he took an active role in educating himself and others about his disease. He created the Livestrong-Lance Armstrong Foundation, and has since become equally famous for his advocacy for people living with cancer and as chairman of his foundation for cancer research and support.

Testicular cancer is the focus of considerable ongoing research

Clinical trials are carefully controlled research studies that are done with patient volunteers. They are undertaken to evaluate promising new treatments or procedures. To find out more about ongoing clinical research, click here

The American Cancer Society provides a detailed guide on “What’s New in Testicular Cancer Research and Treatment?”, here

More information

For more about testicular cancer, we recommend talking to your doctor and visiting these websites:

• About Testicular cancer, patient page from the Journal of the American Medical Association
• Testicular cancer from MedlinePlus – Trusted Health Information for You
• Testicular cancer from the National Cancer Institute
• Testicular Cancer: Questions and Answers – National Cancer Institute
• Cancer Stat Fact Sheet: Cancer of the Testis
• The testicular cancer resource center
• Livestrong – The Lance Armstrong Foundation
• For men only – Cancer symptoms you are likely to ignore from Caring.com – Helping you help your parents

scientific references

1. Czene K, Lichtenstein P, Hemminki K. Environmental and heritable causes of cancer among 9.6 million individuals in the Swedish Family-Cancer Database. International Journal of Cancer 2002;99:260-6.
2. Huyghe E, Matsuda T, and Thonneau PF, Increasing incidence of testicular cancer worldwide: a review. The Journal of Urology, 2003. 170(1): p. 5-11.
3. Huyghe E, Plante P, Thonneau PF. Testicular cancer variations in time and space in Europe. European Urology, 2007 Mar;51(3):621-8. Epub 2006 Aug 30.
4. Jack RH, Davies EA, Møller H. Testis and prostate cancer incidence in ethnic groups in South East England. International Journal of Andrology 2007 Aug;30(4):215-20.
5. Rapley EA, Turnbull C, Al Olama AA, et al. A genome-wide association study of testicular germ cell tumor. Nature Genetics. 2009 Jul;41(7):807-10. Epub 2009 May 31.

This content was last reviewed on February 09, 2010.

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