Orchiectomy
Definition
Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one or both testes in men with prostate or testicular cancer.
Purpose
In men who have prostate cancer, an orchiectomy, up until the 1990s, was considered the standard treatment. By removal of the testes, the influence of testosterone, the male hormone produced by the testes, is removed. Testosterone stimulates prostate cancer growth and progression of the disease.
Orchiectomy is done in men with testicular cancer to remove one or both testes that have cancer. By removing the cancerous testes, there...
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