A comparison of testicular tumors in black and white patients

Testicular tumors are uncommon in black compared to white patients but several reports have indicated that this disease is more lethal in black patients. The authors reviewed the records of 840 post-puberal patients with primary tumors of the testis seen between 1949 and 1979. There were 17 black and 823 white patients. The predominant tumor in both groups of patients was seminoma. Ten black (58.8 per cent) and 329 white patients (40 per cent) had seminoma. Two black and 4 white patients had interstitial cell tumors. Only 5 black patients (29 per cent) had a non-seminomatous germ cell testicular tumor, while 494 white patients (60 per cent) had such a tumor. These observations alone suggest an over-all better prognosis in black than in white patients. The data demonstrate again the rarity of this disease in black patients but the survey shows that black patients with testicular tumors have a better prognosis than has been reported previously.