Germ cell tumours of the testis: 10-year survival data from a tertiary care centre in India

Germ cell testicular tumours are rare tumours. The incidence is the lowest in India, leading to limited availability of published Indian data. We report here the 10-year survival data for patients with this curable malignancy.

Record-based analysis was done for testicular germ cell tumours presenting to a tertiary care referral centre in North India during the period from 2010 to 2019. A total of 44 patients were identified who were evaluated for the demographics, treatment modalities and 10-year disease-free survival and overall survival (OS).

Forty five percent of the patients had seminoma, while 55% had nonseminomas. Stages I-III disease was seen 41%, 23%, 36% and 67%, 17%, 17% of nonseminoma and seminoma patients, respectively. Within the seminomas, 89% patients were good risk and 11% were intermediate risk. Within the nonseminoma patients, 81% were good risk, 13% were intermediate risk and 6% were poor risk. At a median follow up of 73.4 months, 5- and 10-year OS were 88% and 77% for seminoma, while 87% and 78% for nonseminomas. The 5- and 10-year progression-free survival was 88% and 76% for seminoma patients, while 83% each for nonseminoma patients. On Cox proportional univariate analysis, none of the prognostic factors were found to be associated with OS.

Our patients presented with a lower metastatic disease burden, minimal violation of the scrotum and upfront orchiectomy in all patients. This resulted in better survival outcomes compared to previous Indian studies. However, the outcomes are inferior as compared to the West. Raising awareness about early diagnosis, treatment safety and curability may further save lives in these young males.