What drives malpractice lawsuits involving testicular cancer?

Delayed diagnosis appears to drive malpractice lawsuits involving patients with testicular cancer, according to a study presented at the Society of Urologic Oncology 25th Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas.¹

Adri M. Durant, MD

“Over the past few decades, there has been a push to reduce the morbidity associated with treating testicular cancer (ie, encouraging surveillance for most stage I disease instead of adjuvant therapy, implementing modified and nerve sparing templates for RPLNDs, etc). Our study sought to evaluate if changes in testicular cancer management have affected malpractice litigation in testicular cancer,” study author Adri M. Durant, MD, a urology resident at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, told Urology Times.

For the study, the authors utilized the Google Scholar Case Law database, which includes state and federal case law in addition to trial court cases, to examine litigation related to testicular cancer malpractice in the US. For the time period from January 1, 1975 to January 1, 2024, the terms “testicular cancer” or “testis cancer” and “malpractice” were queried.

The search initially yielded 102 lawsuits, from which 24 were identified once duplicates and cases that were deemed irrelevant to malpractice litigation in patients with testicular cancer were excluded.

The authors reported that 21 (87.5%) cases dealt with delays in diagnosis or treatment. Two (8.3%) cases had to do with response to complications from radiation treatment, and 1 (4.2%) case was related to loss of semen specimen to be used for fertility preservation following the diagnosis of testicular cancer.

“We found that the majority of malpractice claims were filed in response to delayed diagnosis or treatment and no cases were filed in response to surveillance practices or surgical techniques,” Durant told Urology Times.

The investigators reported that there were no claims filed related to surveillance practices following orchiectomy of surgical techniques used for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.

A breakdown of the defendants involved in the lawsuits found that 4% were insurance companies, 17% were general practitioners, 8% were radiation oncologists, 67% were health care centers, and 4% were urologists.

Concluded the authors in their poster, “The primary cause of malpractice lawsuits involving [patients with] testicular cancer was delayed diagnosis, emphasizing the importance of early detection.”

REFERENCE

1. Durant A, Mayes C, Tyson M. Testicular cancer malpractice trends. Presented at: Society of Urologic Oncology 25th Annual Meeting. December 4-6, 2024. Dallas, Texas. Abstract 77. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://suo-abstracts.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/21/details/3581