Testicular cancer epidemiology in developing countries. Review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: Testicular cancer (TC) is the most common cancer in men between 15 and 44 years. It has been reported that the incidence of TC is rising. The aim of this article is to determine the epidemiology of TC in Colombia. METHODS: A literature review on four databases was performed PubMed, Embase, Lilacs and Scielo. Studies of incidence, prevalence, mortality and survival of TC were taken from different countries. Studies included were published in the last 10 years. RESULTS: 2308 references were reviewed by title and abstract. In search of local references in non-indexed journals 5 references were extracted. In total 139 references for review in full text were selected. The global incidence and prevalence of cancer varies. In the Northern Europe region, the highest incidence is evident, mainly in Denmark, Croatia and Norway. Followed by Western Europe and South America with Chile. In Colombia the general age incidence is 2,2/100.000, finding a zero incidence in departments such as Chocó and Guajira. CONCLUSIONS: A rise in the incidence of TC has been seen globally, this trend mainly in developing countries. In Colombia most studies are crossectional studies. By seeing the epidemiological data from some departments and the lack of specialists in those regions, it can be deduced the existence of an underreport of the disease that reveals the need to improve both surveillance systems and information registration, such as policies to achieve early diagnosis of TC.