The short answer
NCI names having an undescended testicle, called cryptorchidism, as a risk factor for testicular cancer. It sits on a short list with family or personal history, Klinefelter syndrome, testicular carcinoma in situ, and having a testicle that is small or does not work as it should. NCI is clear that not everyone with a risk factor develops the disease, and the disease also appears in people with none.
Cryptorchidism means a testicle did not move down into the scrotum before or shortly after birth.
NCI lists it among the recognised risk factors for testicular cancer.
Other listed factors include a personal or family history of testicular cancer, Klinefelter syndrome, and testicular carcinoma in situ.
A testicle that is not normal — for example small and not working as it should — is also on NCI's list.
On this page
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The whole article, with every detail and caution.
What NCI actually lists
This page is for men who had an undescended testicle as a child, and for parents of boys who have one. It explains what that means for testicular cancer risk.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) keeps a short list of risk factors for testicular cancer. Having an undescended testicle is on it. The medical name for that is cryptorchidism.
The rest of the list is short too. NCI names having a personal or family history of testicular cancer. It names having Klinefelter syndrome, a genetic condition in which a male has an extra X chromosome. It names having testicular carcinoma in situ, which means abnormal cells that have not spread. It names having a testicle that is not normal, such as a small testicle that does not work. It also names being a White man.
That is the whole list. NCI does not attach a number to any item on it, and neither will this page.
What "risk factor" means here
A risk factor is something that raises the chance of a disease. It is not a cause, and it is not a forecast.
NCI says: "Not every person with one or more of these risk factors will develop testicular cancer, and it will develop in people who don't have any known risk factors."
Read that sentence twice if the news has landed hard. It cuts both ways. A history of cryptorchidism does not mean cancer is coming. Having none of these factors does not mean you are exempt.
If you only know the history second-hand
NCI's list does not explain why a testicle fails to descend. Many men only know about their history because a parent mentioned it, or because it turned up in an old medical note. Ask your doctor about treatment details for your own case.
If yours was corrected in childhood
This is the question most people arrive with, and the honest answer is that NCI's list does not split the two cases apart. It names having an undescended testicle as a risk factor. It does not say the risk disappears after surgery, and it does not say it stays the same.
So the useful step is not more reading. It is telling a doctor who can see your records. Say when it was found, which side, how it was treated, and at what age. Those details belong on your chart, and they are easy to lose across a lifetime of moving between practices.
What to do with this
NCI says there is no standard or routine screening test for early detection of testicular cancer. That can feel like an anticlimax.
NCI lists these signs to check with a doctor about: a painless lump or swelling in either testicle, a change in how a testicle feels, a dull ache in the lower belly or groin, a sudden build-up of fluid in the scrotum, or pain or discomfort in a testicle or the scrotum. These can have other causes, which is a reason to get them checked, not to wait.
If you are not sure what normal feels like for you, that is a reasonable thing to ask a clinician to show you.
Keeping the worry the right size
Pages like this one can turn a piece of childhood history into a low hum of anxiety. Try to hold two facts at the same time.
The first is that NCI put cryptorchidism on the list for a reason, and it is worth having on your record. The second is that a risk factor describes a group, not a person. Nothing on that list decides what happens to you.
A single conversation usually settles most of it. Bring the history, bring your questions, and let someone who can examine you do the rest.
Common questions
My testicle was corrected in childhood. Am I still on this list?
NCI lists having an undescended testicle as a risk factor without limiting the statement to uncorrected cases. What that means for you personally is a question for a clinician who knows your history, and it is a fair one to ask.
Does this mean I will get testicular cancer?
No. NCI states that not every person with one or more of these risk factors will develop testicular cancer. A risk factor shifts the odds; it does not decide the outcome.
What is testicular carcinoma in situ?
It refers to abnormal cells confined to the place they started. NCI lists it separately as a risk factor for testicular cancer.
Should I be doing anything differently?
NCI's page is about risk factors, not about a screening programme. The practical step is telling your doctor about the history so it is on your record, and getting any new change in a testicle looked at.
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Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-08-11
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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