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According to the American Cancer Society, more than 8,500 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States. During the past 50 years, the incidence has tripled in young Caucasian men throughout the world.

“This increase and the characteristics of germ cell tumors strongly suggest that fetal exposure to an environmental agent is responsible,” Shetty said. “However, the identification of any agent producing increases in testicular cancer has eluded scientists.”

Endocrine disruptors, chemicals that alter the endocrine – or hormonal – system, have been widely suggested as the cause of testicular cancer, but there has been no proof. Fetuses are especially vulnerable to even small amounts of the substances, which are known to cause developmental and cognitive issues.

Radiation induces cancer, 2 endocrine disrupters don’t

This study began as an examination of endocrine disruptors as a possible cause of testicular cancer. Researchers separately tested two such substances, the estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the antiandrogen flutamide.

The endocrine disruptors were introduced into a mouse strain with a high spontaneous incidence of testicular cancer, which should make them more sensitive to cancer caused by environmental agents. But the results showed no increase in testicular cancer.

However, when researchers gave modest doses of radiation, which is a DNA-damaging agent, to female mice in the middle of their pregnancies, all the male offspring developed testicular cancer, compared to 45 percent of mice not exposed to radiation. In addition, the tumors were more aggressive and had more sites of origin.

Next steps

This study suggests that DNA-damaging agents, rather than endocrine disruptors, should be examined as a factor in the increased prevalence of testicular cancer……  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fetal-exposure-testicular-cancer.html