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Understanding Signatera™ for Testicular Cancer

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Signatera™ is a personalized blood test designed to help you and your doctor monitor your health more closely after a testicular cancer diagnosis. It looks for molecular residual disease (MRD)—tiny fragments of tumor DNA (ctDNA) that may remain in your bloodstream after surgery or treatment that are undetectable with current standard-of-care tools.

Why is this test helpful?

Traditional blood markers (like AFP, hCG, or LDH) are routinely used to monitor for cancer recurrence, but they have limitations. They can appear normal in up to 40% of patients even when cancer is present, or they may be elevated due to other conditions. Signatera™ offers:

  • Higher Accuracy: Helps identify patients at the highest risk of cancer returning and guides treatment decisions, potentially sparing some patients from unnecessary additional therapy.
  • Earlier Recurrence Detection: Detects signs of recurrence during surveillance when standard blood tumor markers might miss them.
  • Personalized Insights: Custom-built for your specific tumor to help guide treatment and monitoring decisions.

What the Research Shows

A study of patients with testicular cancer demonstrated how well Signatera™ predicts different outcomes:

  • After Surgery: Patients who tested positive for Signatera after surgery had a 5x higher risk of cancer recurrence compared to those who tested negative.1
  • Long-term Monitoring: During the surveillance period, patients who tested positive for Signatera were 12x more likely to experience recurrence.1
  • A Clearer Picture: In a study evaluating the clinical utility of tumor-informed ctDNA in testicular cancer, 100% of ctDNA-positive patients with normal traditional markers eventually experienced relapse, while no ctDNA-negative patients had recurrence—even if other markers were slightly elevated.1 These findings suggest ctDNA testing with Signatera may be a more reliable indicator of cancer recurrence.

Moving Forward with Your Care

Your care team may use Signatera™ at different stages:

  • MRD Window: Usually 2–12 weeks after surgery to check for any remaining cancer fragments.
  • Surveillance: Ongoing testing to monitor for cancer recurrence over time.
  • Post-Treatment: Helps identify patients at higher or lower risk of cancer returning, even after chemotherapy or other treatments.

Looking Ahead

In the testicular cancer setting, one message is clear: ctDNA is transforming how doctors understand cancer recurrence and make treatment decisions. From identifying high-risk patients after surgery earlier than standard methods to monitoring for recurrence during surveillance, ctDNA-based monitoring with Signatera is enabling more personalized, timely, and informed cancer care.

If you’re a survivor or caregiver, these advances may offer new opportunities to discuss with your care team—especially around monitoring for recurrence and making treatment decisions after surgery. Talk with your care team to see if Signatera™ is right for you.

References

1 Hassoun R, Ben-David R, Sfakianos JP, et al. Longitudinal Evaluation of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a Prognostic Biomarker to Detect Molecular Residual Disease in Germ Cell Tumors. JCO Precision Oncology. 2025. doi:10.1200/PO.25.00176