Germ cell tumours of the testis: clinical features, treatment outcome and prognostic factors

Abstract

Background: The prognosis of patients with germ cell tumours of the testis has improved over the past two decades following cisplatinum-based chemotherapy. Currently, staging and risk assessment of the disease Is crucial in order to provide curative therapy for patients with poor risk features and not overtreat good risk patients. Methods: We reviewed the case records of 71 men diagnosed to have germ cell tumours between January 1993 and October 1999. Their clinical characteristics, staging, treatment outcome and prognostic factors for response and survival were analysed. Results: The median age of the patients was 30 years (range: 3-65 years); 69% were in the third and fourth decades. Sixtyone patients (86%) had a primary testicular tumour while in 10 (14%) the tumour was extragonadal. Histopathologically, 53 patients (75%) had non-seminomatous germ cell tumours and 15 (21 %) had a seminoma. Twenty-seven patients (62%) had evidence of metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. On prognostication, non-sernlnomatous germ cell tumour patients could be divided into good, Intermediate and poor prognostic groups comprising 41 %, 17% and 40% of patients, respectively. All patients with a seminoma were in the good prognostic subgroup. Fifty-eight patients were evaluable for response. Overall, 91 % of patients responded: complete response 71 % and partial response 20%. Complete response rates were significantly higher for the good risk (95%) compared to the intermediate (49%) and poor risk (47%) categories (p<0.003). At a median follow up of 26 months, the 2-year overall and progression-free survival for all patients was 70% and 57%, respectively. The predictors for decreased overall and progression- free survival were age >35 years, presence of poor risk features and mediastinal primary disease. Conclusion: The outcome for germ cell tumours in men with good risk is excellent. A protocol consisting of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin iseffective. Tailoring of chemotherapy in good risk patients to minimize toxicity and improving.