Researchers from Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) have found that survivors of testicular cancer are more likely to develop a range of other health problems, including hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and other lung and hormone-related issues, five years or more post-diagnosis.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged between 15 and 35, and given that many men are diagnosed at a very young age, this can see them developing these conditions much sooner than would be expected among their peers in the general population.
As a result, the new research recommends that these patients be regularly screened at an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP)-led clinic, so that cardiac and other medical issues can be identified early and successfully treated, thereby preventing complications from developing.
Such an ANP-led screening clinic was set up at TUH in October 2022 and continues to run after research in Norway and the US found that men who had previously been treated for testicular cancer were dying much younger than expected. The clinic was established at TUH by Consultant Oncologist Raheel Khan (who was then working as a registrar) and Oncology ANP Patrice Kearney Sheehan.
The ANP-led clinic runs weekly at the hospital and reviews men with a history of testicular cancer. During their annual appointment, the men are screened for several potential health complications. The results formed the basis of this new research. All of the men who have joined the testicular cancer survivor clinic are at least five years post their original diagnosis, with the average being 10 years post-treatment.
To date, the specialist TUH Cancer Trials Unit, along with the oncology department at the hospital, has recruited 78 men who have all been diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer. According to the new data, 40 per cent of these men had hypertension and over half had dyslipidaemia.
The ANP-led clinic also identified two cases of coronary artery disease and noted that one patient had suffered a heart attack at the age of 45. Three of the men had died from a second malignant neoplasm. Six patients were found to have kidney issues and are now being treated by the hospital’s nephrology department.
Consultant Oncologist Raheel Khan, who led this study with the support of his colleagues, said: “These results are astonishing. We know from research carried out in recent years that men who have been successfully treated for testicular cancer die much younger than normal.
“Early screening can identify and successfully treat many of the complications they face, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, particularly important when this research tells us that one of the men we studied had suffered a heart attack at the age of just 45. The study identifies the need for more specialist ANP-led survivor clinics. Unlike TUH, most cancer centres do not offer any follow-up at the end of surveillance for testicular cancer patients.”
The team at TUH have also established the first national testicular cancer database.
Reference: Khan M, Sheehan PK, Bazin A, et al. Long-term side-effects of testicular cancer and treatment (observational study of mortality and morbidity in testicular cancer survivors). Support Care Cancer. 2025;33(5):413.
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