Testicular Cancer and COVID-19

This is intended to be a living page and updates will be noted here.

5/20/20 Update: Added surgical management guidelines from the American College of Surgeons.

4/29/20 Update: Added Recommendations from the EAU Testicular Cancer Guidelines Panel applicable during the COVID-19 pandemic

4/22/2020 Update: Information on fertility preservation and sperm banking added.

 

There is a lot of uncertainty during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and how COVID-19 affects the way we treat testicular cancer. 

In an unprecedented manner, publishers and societies around the world have removed their paywalls to allow access to their coronavirus repositories. While they should be lauded for increasing access and collaboration, it also means one can go down a wormhole when trying to locate sound, expert guidance. 

In an unique alliance, six non-profit Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer advocacy organizations have launched CovidAYACancer.org, as a resource for AYA cancer patients and health care professionals. 

Dr. Craig Nichols, a world-renowned expert in testicular cancer, is also a participant in this alliance.

Testicular Cancer Guidance During COVID-19

The COVID AYA Cancer site contains a living document of Guidance on Treating Testicular Cancer during COVID-19 that was developed by a group of concerned international testicular cancer experts.

These concerned experts include: Nabil Adra, Indiana USA; Hamed Ahmadi, California, USA; Doug Bank, Illinois, USA; Aditya Bagrodia Texas USA; Philippe Bedard, Ontario, Canada; Olav Dahl, Norway; Siamak Daneshmand, California USA; Lawrence Einhorn, Indiana USA; Peter Grimison, Australia ;Robert Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Nadine Housri, New York, USA; Rebecca Johnson, Washington, USA; Christian Kollmannsberger, British Columbia, Canada; Mark Lewis, Utah, USA; Lucia Na,, British Columbia, Canada; Craig Nichols, Oregon, USA; Bruce Roth Missouri, USA; Ben Tran, Australia; Torgrim Tandstad, Norway; Guy Toner, Australia; David Vaughn, , Pennsylvania, USA - and when these experts speak we listen and encourage others to do the same.

 

Triaging Testicular Cancer Surgery During The Coronavirus Pandemic

While not specifically addressed in the COVID AYA Cancer Site, there are concerns over how to triage surgical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic to maintain access to surgical capacity and ventilator usage. 

The American College of Surgeons has issued guidelines on how to manage surgical procedures according to the level of the COVID-19 pandemic at: ACS Guidelines for Triage and Management of Elective Cancer Surgery Cases During the Acute and Recovery Phases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. Specifically, the guidelines address radical orchiectomy, primary and post-chemotherapy RPLND procedures among other notations. 

 

Considerations in the Triage of Urologic Surgeries During the COVID-19 Pandemic has been published in European Urology and is available in full-text to offer guidance in the prioritization of urological surgeries.

A adapted chart is below but in short, orchiectomies and RPLND should be considered prioritized surgical procedures and we encourage you to review the full-text for additional information. 

 

European Association of Urology Testicular Cancer Guidelines Panel 

The European Association of Urology Rapid Reaction Group had adapted the EAU testicular cancer guidelines to the current coronavirus pandemic situation. The Recommendations from the EAU Testicular Cancer Guidelines Panel applicable during the COVID-19 pandemic begin on page 24.

Fertility Preservation and Sperm Banking

During the coronavirus pandemic options for preserving your fertility via sperm banking may be limited due to fertility offices and clinics having limited capacity/hours or being closed.

Dadi offers at-home sperm collection kits with cryogenic storage. These kits may be an option for those who do not have access to fertility centers or for those wishing to limit their physical interactions with health care providers.

We've contacted them directly and during COVID-19 Dadi remains operational and is now offering FedEx at-home kit pickup. To help testicular cancer patients, they have also provided a check out code on our partnership page for additional financial assistance. 

Contact Us Day or Night for Additional Assistance 

Please contact us if you need additional assistance. We are here to help you understand your treatment options, connect you with testicular cancer experts that can help and to help overcome any access to care issues you might be facing. 

While there are many unknowns during this ongoing coronavirus pandemic, delaying care is one thing that should not be done.