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Scientists hail testicular cancer breakthrough
Scientists have made a breakthrough in studying testicular cancer in young men.
By using human testicular tissue grafted into mice, they have been able to study the development of the cells which can cause cancer.
Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) is the most common cancer among men aged 15 to 44 and cases are increasing.
However, testicular cancer is still relatively rare, with around 2,000 cases in the UK each year among all age groups.
Experts already know that testicular cancer originates from the abnormal development of germ cells (cells that go on to become sex cells) in foetuses.
However, how and why this happens has been impossible to explore before now.
In the latest study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, experts formulated a new method for investigating how human testes develop in baby boys before they are born.
They took testicular tissue from donated foetuses and grafted it into mice, watching how the cells developed normally, as if inside a womb, over a six week period.
Previous studies have not been possible because the TGCC seen in men does not occur in laboratory animals.
Testicular tissue also cannot be studied in a test tube because it does not survive and develop normally.
But, using the new model, experts should be able to determine which factors interfere with normal germ cell development and allow cancer to develop.
The team also hopes the mouse model could be used to investigate other health issues, including sexual disorders.
Professor Richard Sharpe, principal investigator at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh and supervisor of the study, said: "This vital work will take research into testicular cancer to a new level.
"We now have a viable system that enables us to test what factors might interfere with development.
"It will help us to investigate, for example, whether common environmental chemicals, that foetuses are exposed to in the womb, play a role in the development of testicular cancer - an aspect that simply could not have been studied before."
He said there was now "overwhelming" evidence that growth and
development in the womb play a fundamental role in determining likelihood of disease in later life.
"Male reproductive disorders fall into this category, in particular testicular germ cell cancer, the commonest cancer of young men in their 20s and 30s."
Professor Stephen Holgate, chair of the MRC's population and systems medicine board, said: "Developing new tools to open avenues of scientific study is a vital part of the MRC's work.
"Understanding how we develop, even before birth, and how this relates to disease in later life is crucial to improve our long term health."
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