Testicular self-examination: an argument against routine teaching.

Primary care physicians are constantly urged to include new procedures, tests and patient education issues in their office practices. Recently some authorities have encouraged the routine teaching of testicular self-examination to young adult male patients. The following article reviews the current status of testicular tumours, highlighting the low incidence and rising cure rate. An approach is presented to the critical evaluation of self-examination as a screening device. Testicular self-examination is assessed in terms of its potential efficacy, effectiveness, availability and efficiency. In the authors' opinion, health care funds and physician time with young men could be better spent elsewhere.