Partly True: Home pregnancy tests can detect testicular cancer.

By: Devika Kandelwal
September 21 2021

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Home pregnancy tests are not a reliable way of detecting testicular cancer. If you are worried about testicular cancer, you must consult a doctor. A video was posted on September 17 on a Facebook page called "The Adley Show," which has around 1,657,736 followers. The video shows three men taking a pregnancy test each. It claims that if a test is positive, it means that the person who took it could have cancer. At the end of the video, two tests come out negative, and one test is positive. The video has been viewed 117.4K times in the last 24 hours. There have been several reports saying that pregnancy tests have led some men to a cancer diagnosis; indeed, this method has apparently worked in some cases. However, the consensus among health professionals and healthcare bodies is that a home pregnancy test is not a reliable way of testing for testicular cancer. According to Mayo Clinic, "Testicular cancer occurs in the testicles (testes). The testicles produce male sex hormones and sperm for reproduction." It is not always known what causes this cancer but it is highly treatable. According to the American Cancer Society, testicular cancer is rare; only about 1 in 250 men will develop it at some point during their life. According to Healthline, "Testicular tumors can lead to an increase in a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). This is the same hormone that’s detected by home pregnancy tests." This hormone gives a positive result and could mean that extra hCG has been detected in the urine. However, taking a pregnancy test is not a reliable way of diagnosing cancer. A positive test wouldn't necessarily indicate that someone has testicular cancer. Alternatively, every negative test also does not mean that the person does not have cancer. Not all testicular cancers will produce elevated levels of hCG or other cancer markers. A positive test can also result from the presence of protein or blood or certain types of medications in the urine. As Cancer Research UK’s Martin Ledwick told Full Fact: “We definitely wouldn’t recommend relying on a pregnancy test to self-diagnose testicular cancer. Sometimes testicular cancers can cause an elevated hCG, but this isn’t always the case. Someone could get false reassurance from a negative test or could have elevated levels for another reason altogether.”