Objective To analyze the incidence and mortality of testicular cancer in China from 1990 to 2019, and to explore the influence of age, period, and cohort effect on the incidence and mortality of testicular cancer.

Methods Using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD)2019 database, the incidence and mortality of testicular cancer in China from 1990 to 2019 were analyzed, and the time variation trend of age-standardized incidence and age-standardized mortality was analyzed by using Joinpoint software, and the average annual variation percentage was calculated. The age-period-cohort model was constructed to analyze the influence of age, period, and birth cohort effects on the incidence and mortality trend of testicular cancer.

Results In 2019, the incidence of testicular cancer in China was 1.21/100 000, and the mortality was 0.08/100 000. The incidence and mortality increased by 348.15% and 14.29% respectively compared with 1990. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized incidence of testicular cancer in China showed an upward trend, with an average annual increase of 5.23%, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05), while the age-standardized mortality of testicular cancer showed a downward trend, with an average annual decrease of 0.12%, but the trend was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The results of the age effect showed that the incidence and mortality of testicular cancer in China showed an overall upward trend from 1990 to 2019. Both the incidence and mortality showed a rapid increase trend after 60 years old, reaching a peak in the age group over 85 years old. The results of the period effect showed that the relative ratio (RR) of the incidence risk of testicular cancer in China increased from 1990 to 2019, and the incidence RR was the highest from 2015 to 2019, with RR = 2.44 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.31 ~ 2.56. The period changes in the mortality risk of testicular cancer showed a downward trend, and the mortality RR was the highest from 1995 to 1999, with the mortality RR = 1.09 (95%CI 0.99 ~ 1.19). The results of the cohort effect show that the later people were born, the higher the risk of illness and the lower the risk of death.

Conclusion From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized incidence of testicular cancer in China showed an upward trend, and the age-standardized mortality showed a downward trend, but there was no statistical significance. The epidemiological patterns and trends of testicular cancer in different ages, periods, and birth cohorts may provide new insights for public health, and these findings may provide an important basis for formulating public health strategies to further reduce the burden of testicular cancer.