Br. J. Cancer (1984), 50, 377-380
The increasing incidence of testicular cancer in East Anglia
A.B.W. Nethersell, L.K. Drake & K. Sikora
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, MRC Centre, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QH, UK.
Summary We have studied the age-related incidence of testicular cancer in the East Anglian region. The
incidence for both teratoma and seminoma has almost doubled since 1960. Teratoma incidence, stable from
1960-1969 at 0.9 per 105 of the male population, increased between 1970 and 1975 to 1.7. This rise was the
result of increased occurrence among younger men. Seminoma incidence also rose from 1.5 to 2.5 per 105,
most rapidly between 1975 and 1980. Causes for the rising incidences have been suggested.
[snip]
....radiation levels increased by only a few per cent as
a result of nuclear fallout (Cambray et al., 1983). It
seems unlikely that these could have produced such
a dramatic increase unless sporadic pockets of high
dose existed as a result of fission products (e.g.
Zirconium-95). Nevertheless, the rate at which
nuclear fallout rose to a plateau in the fifties and
early sixties preshadows the rising incidences 15-20
years later. Such a lag time seems not unreasonable
for germinal epithelium.
