Therapy and prognosis of testicular carcinomas in relation to TNM classification

Eight-hundred and thirty-one patients with testicular carcinomas, either teratocarcinoma (405), embryonal carcinoma (406) or pure choriocarcinoma (20), treated mainly at our center from 1950 to 1976, were clinicopathologically staged according to the TNM Classification. The cancer was confined to the body of testis alone (T1 N0 M0) or extended to paratesticular structures (T2-4 N0 M0) in 37% of all patients. Para-aortic lymph nodes were found involved (N1-3) in 33% and juxtaregional lymph nodes (N4) in 9% of patients; distant metastases were detected initially in the lung alone (M1) and other distant organs (M2) in 21% of the patients. Postorchiectomy treatment was retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy with or without regional-juxtaregional irradiation and systemic chemotherapy in 470 patients; the other 361 patients received external irradiation and/or adjuvant chemotherapy. Survival determined at 5 years was 58% in teratocarcinoma cases, 41% in embryonal carcinoma cases and 0% in pure choriocarcinoma cases. Rates of 5-year survival according to the TNM staging were 81% for T1 N0 M0 tumors, 58% for T2-4 N0 M0 tumors, 44% for N1-3 M0 tumors, 33% for N4 M0 tumors and 10% for N0-4 M1 or 2 tumors. In patients who underwent lymphadenectomy with or without external irradiation, the 5-year survival rates with and without adjuvant chemotherapy, respectively, were 96% and 86% for T1 N0 M0 tumors, 100% and 60% for T2-4 N0 M0 tumors, 66% and 42% for N1-3 M0 tumors, 54% and 40% for N4 M0 tumors and 38% and 0% for N0-4 M1 tumors. In patients treated by external irradiation alone or following lymphadenectomy the rates of 5-year survival with versus without adjuvant chemotherapy were 100% versus 66% for T1-4 N0 M0 tumors, 44% versus 18% for N1-3 M0 tumors, 41% versus 22% for N4 M0 tumors and 3% versus 4% for N0-4 M1-2 tumors.