Symptoms:

• Discomfort, pain, in the testicle or a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum
• Dull ache in the back or lower abdomen
• Enlargement of a testicle or a change in the way it feels
• Excess development of breast tissue (gynecomastia), but this can also occur normally in adolescent males who do not have testicular cancer
• Lump or swelling in either testicle
• Symptoms in other parts of the body, such as the lungs, abdomen, pelvis, or brain (if the cancer has spread)

Note: There may be no symptoms.

Signs and tests:

A physical examination typically reveals a firm lump (mass). When the health care provider holds a flashlight up to the scrotum, the light does not pass through the mass.

Other tests include:

• Abdominal CT scan
• Blood tests for tumor markers: alpha fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta HCG), and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH)
• Chest x-ray
• Ultrasound of the scrotum

Tissue biopsy is usually done by removing the testicle with surgery and then examining the tissue.