The role of delay in stage-III testicular tumors

Twenty-eight patients with stage-III testicular tumors seen between 1979 and 1984 were analyzed for the effect of delay on diagnosis and chemotherapy and prognosis. A statistically significant relation was determined between the symptom-diagnosis interval and extent of the disease. The complete response (CR) rate was 67% for patients treated within 6 months of symptoms, on the contrary only 16% of patients with interval longer than 6 months to treatment had CR (p less than 0.05). We believe that delay in diagnosis and chemotherapy may affect the response to treatment. Health education of the male population for self-examination of the testes is an important factor for minimizing this delay.