MSK is a major research institution. During your treatment for testicular cancer, your care team may ask if you want to join a clinical trial. 

What is a clinical trial? 

Clinical trials are research studies that test new treatments, procedures, or devices to see how well they work. They are an important part of helping to prevent, treat, and cure cancer. Almost every cancer treatment given to patients was first tested during a clinical trial. 

MSK tests new treatments for testicular cancer. Treatment trials test new drugs, drug combinations, devices, and ways of doing procedures, surgery, or radiation therapy. 

Sometimes a clinical trial gives you access to new therapies that are not yet available at most hospitals. Talk with your doctor about whether joining a clinical trial is right for you. 

Clinical trials are designed to answer questions about: 

• Safety 
• Benefits 
• Side effects 
• Whether some people are helped more than others 

MSK will start a clinical trial only if our researchers think we can improve methods for cancer: 

• Prevention 
• Treatment 
• Diagnosis
• Screening 

For more information, please read Clinical Trials at MSK: What You Need to Know.

Testicular cancer research at MSK 

When you come to MSK, your testicular cancer care team will have experts from many areas. This includes urologic surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and pathology. 

You may be able to join a clinical trial. Our doctors will work with you to understand your goals for joining our research study. We will support you throughout the process. 

MSK is researching new treatments for testicular cancer. One of them is immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. We’re studying ways to treat this disease with less harm to your body.

We’re also exploring new ways to diagnose this cancer and improve surveillance (monitoring). MSK researchers have developed a diagnostic biomarker called the MSK microRNA Assay. It’s non-invasive, which means we do not put something in your body. 

A diagnostic biomarker is used to find or confirm cancer. We use a basic blood test to see if the biomarker is in your blood. A tumor marker is material shed by a tumor with cancer. 

MSK is studying the best way to bring this new serum tumor marker into our regular patient care. If you’re in our surveillance program for testicular cancer, you may be able to join our clinical trial. It assesses the role of microRNA for the diagnosis and surveillance of testicular cancers. 

You can see a current listing of MSK’s clinical trials for testicular cancer below.