Morphology and incidence of testicular tumors in western Austria (1945-1980).

During the years 1945-1980 260 testicular tumors were registered in the two western provinces of Austria ( Tyrol and Vorarlberg ). The histological slices of these tumors were revised and classified according to the revised "British Classification" ( Pugh 1976). 91.9% of investigated testicular tumors were of germinal cell origin: 43.8% of them were seminomas and 38.1% teratomas. Combined tumors first appeared regularly when the surgical material was completely processed. The right side was more common affected than the left, in the ratio 7:5. The age of orchidectomy showed the typical peaks for seminomas, teratomas and combined tumors. 60% of germinal cell tumors were operated in stage pT3 (UICC). The average incidence of all testicular tumors in the years 1945-1980 was 1.9/100,000 males, but in the last decennium (1971-1980) the average incidence was 4.0, with a maximum of 6.9 in 1978. Districts with a high percentage of employed in agriculture and forestry showed lower incidences than industrialized areas.