RESUMEN
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the causes of orchiectomy in different age groups.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data about 291 cases of orchiectomy performed between March 1993 and October 2014 and analyzed the causes of surgery and their distribution in different age groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The main causes of orchiectomy were testicular torsion (45.8%), cryptorchidism (32.5%) and testicular tumor (16.9%) in the patients aged 0-25 years, testicular tumor (42.4%), cryptorchidism (25.9%) and tuberculosis (10.6%) in those aged 26-50 years. Prostate cancer was the leading cause in those aged 51-75 years (77.6%) or older (84.0%)), and testicular tumor was another cause in the 51-75 years old men (10.2%). Prostate cancer, testicular tumor, cryptorchidism, and testicular torsion were the first four causes of orchiectomy between 1993 and 2009. From 2010 to 2014, however, testicular tumor rose to the top while prostate cancer dropped to the fourth place.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The causes of orchiectomy vary in different age groups. The proportion of castration for prostate cancer patients significantly reduced in the past five years, which might be attributed to the improvement of comprehensive health care service.</p>