Prognostic factors in cancer of the testis: an approach to identification

The clinical experience at the University of Minnesota Hospitals between 1962 and 1977 was reviewed in the hope of defining the biologic features of testicular cancer, knowledge of which is essential to determine the therapeutic needs of each patient. This collaborative effort between clinicians and statisticians has attempted to define important variables in the assessment of risk factors that determine the choice of treatment for testicular cancer. A preliminary analysis of data on the first 78 patients tabulated was performed to test and plan an approach to the final analysis of a larger group of 282 patients. One prognostic factor, staging, is discussed in detail to illustrate the purpose of this exploratory testing. Retrospective analysis, according to stage, of patients who were referred to this cancer center revealed a poorer prognosis than should be anticipated. In reporting the clinical experience of an individual institution, problems of bias are introduced with respect to the nature of the types of tumors studied.