Purpose: A 14-year review of 215 consecutive patients with testicular
cancer at the University of Illinois hospitals revealed that 25% were
black. This large experience with this relatively rare cancer in black
men provides a unique opportunity to compare the disease stage at pre
sentation, histological tumor type and 5-year survival rates of black,
white and Hispanic men. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the record
s of patients with a diagnosis of testicular cancer treated at Univers
ity of Illinois hospitals. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calcula
te actuarial 5-year survival rates. Results: The overall percentages o
f white, black and Hispanic men were 55 (119 men), 25 (53) and 18% (38
), respectively. We found no significant differences in tumor types am
ong the 3 racial groups. Overall 42 and 58% of the patients had semino
ma and nonseminoma, respectively. Black men with some types of cancer
have been shown to present with higher stages of disease but we noted
no differences in clinical stage at presentation in all groups with te
sticular cancer (average stage I disease in 45%, II in 31% and-III in
24%). Survival rates were 88% in white, 79% in Hispanic and 71% in bla
ck patients. Conclusions: Black men had significantly decreased (z<0.0
2) 5-year disease specific survival, which was 17% less than white pat
ients. The difference in disease specific survival for Hispanic men wa
s not statistically significant. This review of 215 patients with test
icular cancer revealed no differences in tumor type or stage at presen
tation for white, black or Hispanic men. However, a review of these da
ta suggests that disease specific survival outcomes are more ominous i
n black men.