Testicular Germ Cell Tumors
More than 90% of testicular cancer start in the germ cells, which are cells in the testicles and develop into sperm. This type of cancer is known as testicular germ cell cancer. Testicular germ cell cancer can be classified as either seminomas or nonseminomas, which may be identified by microscopy. Nonseminomas typically grow and spread more quickly than seminomas. A testicular germ cell tumor that contains a mix of both these subtypes is classified as a nonseminoma. TCGA studied both seminomas and nonseminomas. Testicular germ cell cancer is rare, comprising 1-2% of all tumors in males. However, it is the most common cancer in men ages 15 to 35. The incidence of testicular germ cell cancer has been continuously rising in many countries, including Europe and the U.S. In 2013, about 8,000 American men were estimated to be diagnosed with the cancer. Of those, 370 are predicted to die from the disease. Men who are Caucasian, have an undescended testicle, abnormally developed testicles, or a family history of testicular cancer have a greater risk of developing testicular cancer. Fortunately, testicular germ cell cancer is highly treatable. Please see the DICOM converted Slide Microscopy images for the TCGA-TGCT collection page to learn more about the histopathology images and to obtain any supporting metadata for this collection.
Can it answer your research question?
4 of 6 supportedOverall survival
LimitedVital status is informative for 94% of cases, but too few events or no time to event.API
Progression or recurrence
Limitedprogression_or_recurrenceis informative for 14% of cases.APITreatment response
Supporteddisease_responseis populated for 94% of cases; criteria: complete response, no measurable disease.APIWhich drug was given
Supportedtherapeutic_agentsis recorded for 38% of cases.APIStage-adjusted modelling
Supportedajcc_pathologic_stageis informative for 92% of cases.APIAnalysis by race or ethnicity
SupportedRace is informative for 89% of cases.API
At a glance
Every percentage is the repository’s own record of what is filled inSubjectCALC
As filed by the repository
Who is in the cohortAPI
- Sex263 male
- Race223 white · 6 black or african american · 4 asian · 17 not reported · 13 unknown
- Ethnicity190 not hispanic or latino · 29 hispanic or latino · 43 not reported · 1 unknown
- Vital status240 alive · 7 dead · 16 not reported
Age at diagnosis
What was measured, and on how many
- Whole-slide tissue images263 of 263 · 100%
- Clinical263 of 263 · 100%
- Whole genome sequencing253 of 263 · 96%
- Somatic Structural Variation252 of 263 · 96%
- Bulk RNA sequencing150 of 263 · 57%
- microRNA sequencing150 of 263 · 57%
- Whole exome sequencing150 of 263 · 57%
- SNP genotyping array (copy number, germline)150 of 263 · 57%
- DNA methylation array150 of 263 · 57%
- DICOM medical imaging150 of 263 · 57%
- Reverse phase protein array118 of 263 · 45%
- ATAC sequencing (chromatin accessibility)9 of 263 · 3%
Platform, files and data levels
| Assay | Platform | Files | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-slide tissue imagesAPI | illumina | 273 | - |
| ClinicalAPI | - | 677 | - |
| Whole genome sequencingAPI | illumina | 4,319 | - |
| Somatic Structural VariationAPI | - | 1,138 | - |
| Bulk RNA sequencingAPI | illumina | 1,404 | - |
| microRNA sequencingAPI | illumina | 468 | - |
| Whole exome sequencingAPI | illumina | 2,472 | - |
| SNP genotyping array (copy number, germline)API | illumina | 1,985 | - |
| DNA methylation arrayAPI | illumina | 468 | - |
| DICOM medical imagingAPI | - | - | DICOM series |
| Reverse phase protein arrayAPI | illumina | 122 | - |
| ATAC sequencing (chromatin accessibility)API | illumina | 9 | - |
How complete all 29 clinical fields are - 17 informative for at least 80% of cases
Outcome
Follow-up
Treatment
Diagnosis
Demographics
Access
Data Access Request through dbGaP using an eRA Commons account; institutional signing official approval required
- Open components
- 5,094 open-access files
- Controlled components
- 7,916 controlled-access files
- Typical turnaround
- days to a few weeks after signing official approval
- License
- NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy terms
- Citation requirement
- Cite the dataset accession and the program's publication guidelines; see the GDC publication policy.
What it is good for
Written and checked by a reviewer, not generated from metadata.
No reviewed research questions yet. The measurements and field completeness above are machine-extracted and still useful for judging fit.
What it cannot tell you
Written by a reviewer against the source, not inferred from what is missing.
No reviewed limitations yet. Check the field completeness chart above before committing to an analysis. Low coverage on an endpoint you need is the most common blocker.
Who has used it
Articles that analyzed these data, counted separately from articles that only cited the paper. Only the first counts as reuse.
What articles did with it
- Cited the paper359
- Mentioned the dataset2
- Accession found in text0
- Declared using it12
- Analyzed the data53
Against comparable datasets
- Analyzed it53
- Expected~127
METHODS:"TCGA-TGCT", but it indexes the hyphen in TCGA-TGCT as a word break, so that query also matches the two words in ordinary prose. Of 28 sampled articles whose full text we could read, 26 contained the literal accession (77-98%, 95% interval). The published figure is the raw count scaled by that fraction.- Reuse is within the expected range for comparable datasets (index -1.24).
Original publication
Articles that analyzed the data
Community examples
Share your exampleAnalyses someone ran on these data end to end, each with a receipt recording when it ran, against which packages and for how long.
Nobody has shared an analysis of this dataset yet. The examples on other datasets cover the common patterns and can be adapted - and if you adapt one, it belongs here.
Start here
Starter code generated from this record’s own identifiers, then the access steps.
Get the data in code
GDC: list open files and download thempython
import json, requests
PROJECT = "TCGA-TGCT"
filters = {"op": "and", "content": [
{"op": "in", "content": {"field": "cases.project.project_id", "value": [PROJECT]}},
{"op": "in", "content": {"field": "access", "value": ["open"]}},
]}
params = {"filters": json.dumps(filters),
"fields": "file_id,file_name,data_category,data_type,file_size",
"size": "10000", "format": "JSON"}
files = requests.get("https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/files", params=params, timeout=60).json()["data"]["hits"]
print(len(files), "open files")
# Write a manifest and fetch with the GDC client (https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/gdc-data-transfer-tool)
with open("manifest.txt", "w") as fh:
fh.write("id\n" + "\n".join(f["file_id"] for f in files))
# $ gdc-client download -m manifest.txtGDC: clinical table for every casepython
import json, requests
filters = {"op": "in", "content": {"field": "project.project_id", "value": ["TCGA-TGCT"]}}
params = {"filters": json.dumps(filters), "size": "5000", "format": "TSV",
"fields": ",".join([
"submitter_id", "demographic.vital_status", "demographic.days_to_death",
"diagnoses.days_to_last_follow_up", "diagnoses.ajcc_pathologic_stage",
"diagnoses.treatments.treatment_type", "diagnoses.treatments.treatment_outcome"])}
tsv = requests.get("https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/cases", params=params, timeout=60).text
open("TCGA-TGCT_clinical.tsv", "w").write(tsv)IDC: pull the DICOM collection with idc-indexpython
from idc_index import IDCClient
COLLECTION = "tcga_tgct"
client = IDCClient()
series = client.index[client.index["collection_id"] == COLLECTION] # one row per DICOM series
print(len(series), "series,", series["PatientID"].nunique(), "patients,",
round(series["series_size_MB"].sum() / 1024, 1), "GB")
print(series["Modality"].value_counts().to_dict())
# Everything above is an index lookup and costs nothing. Uncomment to pull the pixels;
# the client refuses up front if the disk cannot hold them.
# client.download_from_selection(collection_id=COLLECTION, downloadDir="./tcga_tgct")This page as data: limitations firstbash
curl -s https://cd2s.vercel.app/data/datasets/gdc-tcga-tgct.json | python3 -c '
import json, sys
r = json.load(sys.stdin)
for l in r["limitations"]:
print(l["severity"].upper(), "-", l["statement"][:120])
print("survival endpoint:", r["longitudinal"]["has_survival_endpoint"], "| treatment response:", r["longitudinal"]["has_treatment_response"])'Access steps
- Open the project in the GDC Data PortalFor people
Check the portal's current case and file counts before requesting anything; the cohort can change after this record was built.
https://portal.gdc.cancer.gov/projects/TCGA-TGCT - Download the open files without an accountFor people
5,094 open-access files are marked open access. Add them to a portal cart, export a manifest, and fetch it with the GDC Data Transfer Tool.
https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/gdc-data-transfer-toolgdc-client download -m gdc_manifest.txt - Request controlled access through dbGaPFor people
7,916 controlled-access files require an approved data access request. The request starts at dbGaP, not in the portal. The relevant study is phs000178.
https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/obtaining-access-controlled-data - Download controlled files with your tokenFor people
An approved request yields a token. The same manifest fetches nothing controlled without it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000178gdc-client download -m gdc_manifest.txt -t gdc-user-token.txt - Query the project from code, with no credentialsFor agents
The file index is public even where files are not, so an agent can size the cohort before anyone requests access.
https://docs.gdc.cancer.gov/API/Users_Guide/Getting_Started/curl -s 'https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/files' --get \ --data-urlencode 'filters={"op":"in","content":{"field":"cases.project.project_id","value":["TCGA-TGCT"]}}' \ --data-urlencode 'fields=file_id,file_name,data_type' \ --data-urlencode 'size=10000' --data-urlencode 'format=TSV' - Pass the token when the agent needs controlled filesFor agents
Without a token, an API query may return only the open subset. Compare returned counts with the record before treating them as the whole cohort.
https://docs.gdc.cancer.gov/API/Users_Guide/Getting_Started/curl -H "X-Auth-Token: $GDC_TOKEN" https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/data/<file_id>
Provenance
All of it, and more, is in this record’s JSON.
Identifiers
Versions and verification
- Released
- 1 Jan 2017
- Metadata retrieved
- 18 Sept 2026
- Review status
- Machine-extracted
- Data generation funding
- Funded data generation
Funding
Funded data generation
- U24CA210988RNA sequencing analysis of CancerKATHERINE A. HOADLEY, David N HayesAPI
- U24CA210969Integrative Cancer Epigenomic Data Analysis Center (ICE-DAC)PETER W LAIRD, Benjamin P BermanAPI
- U24CA210949Batch effects in molecular profiling data on cancers: detection, quantitation, interpretation, and correctionRehan Akbani, GORDON B. MILLSAPI
- U24CA144025Harvard Genome Characterization CenterRaju S. KucherlapatiAPI
- U24CA143883Integrative Pipeline for Analysis & Translational Application of TCGA Data (GDAC)Rehan Akbani, GORDON B. MILLSAPI
- U24CA143882The USC-JHU Cancer Epigenome Characterization CenterSTEPHEN B. BAYLIN, Daniel Joseph WeisenbergerAPI
- U24CA143867Genome Characterization Center (GCC)Stacey Gabriel, Matthew L. MeyersonAPI
- U24CA143866Cancer transcriptome characterization using massively parallel DNA sequencingMarco Antonio MarraAPI
- U24CA143858UCSC-Buck Inst. Genome Data Analysis Center for TCGA Research Network (GDAC)Christopher Benz, DAVID H HAUSSLERAPI
- U24CA143848Gene Expression Patterns in Human Tumors Identified Using Transcript SequencingDavid N Hayes, CHARLES M PEROUAPI
Funded reuse of these data
- R01CA262516Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Regulation of Pancreatic Cancer ImmunityVinod P Balachandran, Taha MerghoubAPI
- R01CA114478Inherited genetic variation and predisposition to testicular germ cell tumorKatherine L. NathansonAPI
- T32CA009302Leveraging innovative technologies in basic and clinical cancer researchLAURA D ATTARDI, Aaron M NewmanAPI
- R01CA198291Preclinical Testing of a Novel Therapy Targeting AXL in Advanced Kidney CancerErinn B Rankin, Amato J. GiacciaAPI
Funded infrastructure or harmonization
- P50CA257881Homologous recombination deficiency and beyond in pancreatic cancer: evaluating the regulators of response to pembrolizumab and olaparib (POLAR) from the immune and genomic perspectivesEileen Mary O'Reilly, Alice Chia- chi WeiAPI
- P30CA008748Antitumor AssessmentElisa de Stanchina, FRANCESCA M GANYAPI
- U01CA164947Post genome wide association studies in testicular germ cell tumorsPETER A KANETSKY, Katherine L. NathansonAPI
- P30CA016520Clinical Protocol and Data ManagementAmy S Clark, Sunita NastaAPI
- P30CA124435BiostatisticsMANISHA DESAI, Ryan D. LeibAPI