If tests indicate that you have a germ cell tumor, your doctors will use the results to help identify how advanced it is and choose the right treatment for you.

Our doctors use the TNM system to determine how advanced your tumor is.

• T: the size of your testicular tumor
• N: whether your cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the pelvis or abdomen
• M: whether your cancer has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body

We categorize testicular cancer into three stages:

• Stage I, when the cancer is only in the testicle with no evidence that it has spread
• Stage II, when the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes in the abdomen or pelvis
• Stage III, when the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the chest, lungs, liver, bones, or brain

Your treatment team may add a letter (A, B, C, or S) to these stages to more precisely describe the cancer.