Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Thursday, June 8, 2023
HAMBURG – There is no rise of testicular cancer cases during the summer months in Germany, according to a study started after four Bundesliga players were diagnosed with the illness between May and September last year.
Klaus-Peter Dieckmann, the leading doctor at the testicular tumour centre of the Asklepios clinic in Hamburg Altona, said in a statement on Thursday that “for cancer research in this field, this is a gain in knowledge that protects us from taking the wrong path.”
Timo Baumgartl from Union Berlin, Hertha Berlin players Marco Richter und Jean-Paul Boetius and Borussia Dortmund’s Sébastien Haller were diagnosed with testicular cancer within a few months in 2022.
Dieckmann said an evaluation of 31,000 testicular tumour cases in Germany over the last 11 years did not show that the season played a role.
“If there really had been a recognizable seasonal accumulation, we could, for example, take a more intensive look at the vitamin D metabolism or direct sunlight in our research of the cause,” he said.
“After all, the goal is to identify causes in order to prevent illnesses as far as possible.”
The study was conducted together with the Robert Koch Institute and Essen university. The statement said that testicular cancer is among the rarer forms of cancer in the country, with 4,100 men mainly aged between 20 and 40 diagnosed with it every year.
