Global, regional and national burden of testicular cancer, 1990–2016: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Objective To provide estimates of the global incidence, mortality and disability‐adjusted life‐years ( DALY s) associated with testicular cancer ( TC a) between 1990 and 2016, using findings from the Global Burden of Disease ( GBD ) 2016 study. Materials and Methods For the GBD 2016 study, cancer registry data and a vital registration system were used to estimate TC a mortality. Mortality to incidence ratios were used to transform mortality estimates to incidence, and to estimate survival, which was then used to estimate 10‐year prevalence. Prevalence was weighted using disability weights to estimate years lived with disability ( YLD s). Age‐specific mortality and a reference life expectancy were used to estimate years of life lost ( YLL s). DALY s are the sum of YLD s and YLL s. Results Global incidence of TC a showed a 1.80‐fold increase from 37 231 (95% uncertainty interval [ UI ] 36 116–38 515) in 1990 to 66 833 (95% UI 64 487–69 736) new cases in 2016. The age‐standardized incidence rate also increased from 1.5 (95% UI 1.45–1.55) to 1.75 (95% UI 1.69–1.83) cases per 100 000. Deaths from TC a remained stable between 1990 and 2016 [1990: 8394 (95% UI 7980–8904), 2016: 8651 (95% UI 8292–9027)]. The TC a age‐standardized death rate decreased between 1990 and 2016, from 0.39 (95% UI 0.37–0.41) to 0.25 (95% UI 0.24–0.26) per 100 000; however, the decreasing trend was not similar in all regions. Global TC a DALY s decreased by 2% and reached 391 816 (95% UI 372 360–412 031) DALY s in 2016. The age‐standardized DALY rate also decreased globally between 1990 and 2016 (10.31 [95% UI 9.82–10.84]) per 100 000 in 2016). Conclusion Although the mortality rate for TC a has decreased over recent decades, large disparities still exist in TC a mortality, probably as a result of lack of access to healthcare and oncological treatment. Timely diagnosis of this cancer, by improving general awareness, should be prioritized. In addition, improving access to effective therapies and trained healthcare workforces in developing and under‐developed areas could be the next milestones.