People with neurodevelopmental disorders have increased risk of testicular cancer: Study

A new study by researchers at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital shows that men who have a neurodevelopmental disorder, such as autism and ADHD, also have a slightly increased risk of testicular cancer, or seminoma. Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in young men, and its underlying causes are still largely unknown.

The new study focused on patients with testicular cancer in Sweden. A total of 6,166 patients were included and then compared with 61,660 age-matched men without testicular cancer. Medical register data was used to investigate whether psychiatric diagnoses prior to cancer diagnosis were more common in patients with testicular cancer than in the control group.

In general, the researchers did not find an increased risk of testicular cancer in patients with a psychiatric diagnosis, but the group with a neurodevelopmental disorder in particular saw a significant increase in the risk of the seminoma type of testicular cancer.

Although the researchers found that there was an increased risk of seminoma among people with neurodevelopmental disorders the absolute risk increase was less than one percent. The risk of testicular cancer is therefore still very low even among boys and men with conditions such as autism and ADHD, and there is no need to worry if you have these diagnoses. However, the results are intriguing in terms of attempts to get closer to explaining the mechanisms of testicular cancer occurrence.

Reference:

Risk and mortality of testicular cancer in patients with neurodevelopmental or other psychiatric disorders,British Journal of Cancer,doi 10.1038/s41416-023-02260-8