Trends in rates of inpatients treated for testicular cancer in France, 2000-2014

Testicular cancer is rare, accounting for 1-3% of incidence of all malignancies in men. Forecasts predict that the incidence of testicular cancer will increase by 25% in Europe by 2025. We aimed to describe temporal and spatial trends of rates of patients surgically treated for testicular cancer (STTC) in France over the period 2000-2014. Using the International Classification of Diseases and medical procedure codes, from the national hospital discharge database, we selected patients diagnosed with testicular cancer during 2000-2014 who underwent surgery. We used the world's standard population as a reference to standardize rates. We included 29,760 STTC patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 37.4 (+/- 13.5) years. Over the period 2000-2014, the standardized incidence rate of STTC was 6.2 [95% CI: 6.1;6.3] per 100,000 person-years. The overall rate of STTC increased by 21.3% between 2000 and 2014. The annual percentage change (APC) was +1.9% [95% CI: 1.4;2.3] over that period. The incidence rate of STTC was highest among men aged 30-44 (15.0 [95% IC: 14.7;15.2] per 100,000 person-years) and lowest among men aged 0-14 (0.2 [95% IC: 0.16;0.22]). Age-specific STTC incidence rates were similar to indicators from cancer registry data except in elderly men aged 60years and over. Over the study period, the incidence of STTC increased over the year in all the regions of Metropolitan France. APC varied across regions from 1.0% [95% IC: -4.1;6.1] in ile-de-France to 4.2% [95% IC: -0.8;9.2] in Corse. Hospital discharge data, which are more quickly available than population-based data, are good complementary surveillance source for monitoring testicular cancer, especially in young adult patients and area without population-based registry.