High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplant

Germ cell tumors (GCT) are the most common cancer in men between 15 and 35 years of age and the incidence has increased during the past several decades. This article reviews the current knowledge on high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and stem cell transplant for salvage treatment of patients with relapsed metastatic GCT. Furthermore, the authors attempt to dissect the controversy of using standard-dose versus high-dose therapy as initial salvage and identify patients who are most likely to benefit from HDCT and peripheral blood stem cell transplant.