There are several standard approaches for treating male reproductive cancers. For many of these cancers, some form of surgery is the first line of treatment. They may involve removal of cancerous tissue and lymph nodes. Types of surgery include:

• Prostatectomy. Surgical removal of the prostate gland. This is one possible treatment for prostate cancer. The procedure typically involves general anesthesia and a hospital stay of several days. If the surgery removes all the cancer (i.e., there are no deposits of cancer cells, even microscopic ones, outside the prostate), it usually cures prostate cancer.
  
  
• Orchiectomy. Surgical removal of a testicle. This is one possible treatment for testicular or prostate cancer. It is usually an outpatient procedure or can involve brief hospitalization. It involves local, spinal or general anesthesia. If both testicles are removed, the patient will become infertile. Bilateral orchiectomy is occasionally used as a palliative treatment for prostate cancer, working by removing the male hormone (testosterone) on which the prostate cancer feeds.
  
  
• Cryotherapy. Freezing and destruction of cancer cells with liquid nitrogen. This is a treatment for prostate cancer and small skin cancers of the penis. It is not as well established yet as surgery or radiation therapy.
  
  
• Excision. Use of a surgical knife to cut out early-stage penile skin cancer and some surrounding nearby skin. The remaining skin is sewn back together.
  
  
• Laser surgery. Use of a laser beam to kill early-stage penile skin cancer.
  
  
• Penectomy. Surgical removal of some or the entire penis. This is the most common and effective treatment for advanced penile cancer.

Other non-surgical treatments for these cancers include:

• Radiation therapy. Use of high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to destroy prostate, testicular or penile cancer cells. It is often used along with other treatments, such as surgery or chemotherapy.
  
  
• Chemotherapy. Use of one or more powerful medications to destroy cancer cells. Testicular cancers are highly sensitive to chemotherapy. Small skin cancers on the penis may be treated with a topical drug called fluorouracil cream. Chemotherapy has seldom been used with prostate cancer unless it has spread to other areas and is not responding to hormone therapy. However, new and more effective drugs are being developed for clinical treatment.
  
  
• Hormonal drug therapy. Control of metastatic prostate cancer cells with oral medications or injections that reduce male hormone levels.
  
  
• Watchful waiting. Regular monitoring of prostate cancer that appears not to pose a threat. The physician uses tests such as the digital rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to monitor a patient's status. Watchful waiting is used if the risks of surgery or other treatments are judged to outweigh the benefits. More aggressive treatment can be started if necessary.
  
  Since many men, particularly older men, have small prostate cancers that may never represent a threat to them, watchful waiting has become an accepted course of action for certain patients. Its use has been carefully studied and confirmed in these patients but it is not appropriate for all patients, especially younger men. This is a course of action that can only be undertaken after careful consultation between patient and his physician.

Researchers are developing new treatments for men’s reproductive cancers, including biological therapy, which uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Some studies are researching the use of therapeutic vaccines to treat advanced prostate cancer.