Introduction. In 2005, testicular cancer accounted for 0.6% of all cancers in men in France. Its incidence has been steadily increasing for more than 20 years in most industrialized countries. The objective of this study is to describe recent national trends and regional disparities in the rate of patients undergoing surgery for testicular cancer in France based on hospital data and to compare these with data from cancer registries. Methods. The data were obtained from the national database of the Program for the Medicalization of Information Systems (PMSI), 1998–2008. Hospital stays for testicular cancer among patients residing in metropolitan France were selected using ICD-10 codes and surgical procedure codes. Results. A total of 21,179 hospital stays corresponding to operated testicular cancer were selected. The mean age at diagnosis was 37 years. The rate of patients undergoing surgery, standardized to the global population in 2008, was 6.7 per 100,000. An average annual increase of 2.5% in the rate was observed. The standardized incidence ratios of patients undergoing surgery and observed incidence in departments with registries were similar. Regional disparities in the rates of patients undergoing surgery were also observed (2004–2008). The highest rates were found in Alsace, Lorraine, Brittany, and Pays de la Loire, and the lowest rates in Languedoc-Roussillon and Île-de-France. Discussion and conclusion. The observed increase in the rate of patients undergoing surgery for testicular cancer is consistent with trend analyses of national incidence. The rate of patients undergoing surgery in 2004–2008 varied by a factor of 1 to 1.25 across regions. The reasons for these variations are unclear. PMSI data are useful for the epidemiological surveillance of this cancer, particularly for studies of geographic variations. (R.A.)