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Predictors of outcome in patients undergoing postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular
Philippe E Spiess1, Gordon A Brown, Ping Liu
1Department of Urologic Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Background:
The management of metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) frequently consists of systemic chemotherapy followed by retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the authors' PC-RPLND experience and identify predictors of outcome in these patients.
Methods:
Between 1980 and 2003, 236 patients with clinical Stage IIA-III NSGCT underwent PC-RPLND. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed for pertinent clinical and treatment-related outcomes. The 5-year disease-specific and recurrence-free survival was 85% and 75%, respectively, with the median length of follow-up after RPLND 45 months (6-250 months).
Results:
The median age of patients at diagnosis was 28 years, with all patients receiving systemic chemotherapy (median of 5 cycles) before RPLND. On multivariate analysis, predictors of poorer disease-specific survival (DSS) included systemic symptoms at presentation (P = .05), elevated pre-RPLND serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP, P = .006) and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG, P = .004), postoperative complications (P = .03), and recurrence (P < .0001). Predictors of poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) included advanced clinical stage (IIC-III, P = .001) and presence of viable tumor in the RPLND specimen (P = .03). A pre-RPLND serum AFP > 9 ng/mL and HCG > 4.1 mIU/mL were found to predict a worse DSS (P = .03 and .03, respectively).
Conclusions:
In patients undergoing PC-RPLND, preoperative tumor markers and the occurrence of postoperative complications or recurrence are predictive of poorer DSS. Advanced clinical stage and viable tumor in the surgical specimen predict worse RFS.