STOCKHOLM, May 2 -- The risk of testicular cancer can be reduced if surgery for undescended testicles takes place before puberty, according to researchers here.
In a large Swedish cohort, the risk of cancer later in life for boys who had surgery before age 13 was less than half than seen in men and boys who had the operation when they were older, said Andreas Pettersson, M.D., of the Karolinska Institute.
The results "also suggest that the ectopic position of the testis is a factor in the development of testicular cancer," Dr. Pettersson and colleagues reported in the May 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Undescended testis -- also known as cryptorchidism -- occurs in 2% to 5% of full-term male infants and is associated with impaired fertility and testicular cancer, the researchers noted.
