Facteurs de risques environnementaux et/ou professionnels du cancer du testicule

Despite a low overall incidence (1% of all malignant neoplasms), testicular cancer is the most common malignancy among young men. Over the last 40 years, this incidence rate has substantially risen in most industrialised countries. However, the aetiology of testicular cancer remains largely unknown. Only cryptorchidism, and to a lesser extent a family history of testicular cancer, may be considered to be well established risk factors. Numerous attempts have been made to assess the potential role of occupational exposures in adult life as a risk factor for TC, but no clear hypotheses have yet emerged from previous studies in this field. A major limitation of all occupational studies is that no single toxic substance has been clearly identified, and consequently the significant association observed between some job titles and risk of testicular cancer must be interpreted very carefully. In this respect, comparative occupational studies of exposed and non-exposed workers including rigorous and valid job-matrix exposure assessment are needed to study potential relationships between certain occupational exposures and testicular cancer.