Testicular germ-cell neoplasms: curative approaches

Approximately 80 per cent of all patients with testis cancer will present with low-volume disease. If they are pathologic stage I, there is virtually a 100 per cent cure rate even though 5 to 10 per cent will relapse after node dissection. Those who have relapsed have been salvaged with systemic chemotherapy. If clinical stage I patients are followed on observation protocols, 20 to 30 per cent of the patients will relapse. Unfortunately, a small percentage of these patients will not be salvaged with chemotherapy because they have more advanced disease at the time that the relapse is discovered. The main objection to retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in patients with low-stage disease has been the issue of infertility induced by the procedure. This problem has been alleviated by the development of the prospective nerve-sparing procedures. Long-term follow-up is still required to make certain that the relapse rate is not significantly higher than with a full retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. Experience has demonstrated that patients with stage II disease will achieve a 98 to 99 per cent cure rate regardless of whether they have adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery, or full-course chemotherapy should they relapse (approximately 50 per cent). Advanced disease is best treated initially by systemic chemotherapy. The emphasis in the last few years has been on a reduction in the toxicity of chemotherapy while maintaining the high degree of efficacy. Surgery is used as an adjunct to chemotherapy in those patients who achieve a partial remission. Careful follow-up cannot be over emphasized in patients with any form of treatment for testis cancer. It is especially important that those patients who have teratoma present in the surgical specimens obtained at the time of a postchemotherapy lymph node dissection have prolonged follow-up, because recurrences have been noted as long as 6 to 8 years after the initial event. Although primary retroperitoneal or mediastinal germ-cell tumors do exist, the vast majority arise from the testis. If the diagnosis of germ-cell tumor has been made by some means other than orchiectomy, a careful review of the patient's history and physical findings is needed to guide the physician to the possible testicular site of origin. If no physical findings are present, scrotal ultrasound may be helpful in localizing a primary tumor of the testis. If such localization is possible, then a radical orchiectomy should be performed to prevent future seeding from persistent tumor in the testicle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)