Chemotherapy of testicular cancer: 10-year experience

A total of 250 patients with germ cell testicular tumors were treated by PVB chemotherapy between 1982 and 1992. Mean age of patients was 28.9 years (range 15-52). Thirty-four patients in clinical Stage II (11 patients IIA, 13 patients IIB, and 10 patients IIC) underwent primary retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (RPL) with subsequent chemotherapy. They were followed-up for a mean of 106.3 months (range 85-125). CR was achieved in 30 patients (88.2%). Three patients relapsed. Twenty-seven patients (79.4%) are alive with no evidence of disease (NED) after a minimum of 5 years since the start of therapy. One hundred and twenty-two patients underwent primary chemotherapy for clinical Stages IM (15 patients), IIA (31 patients, IIB (48 patients) and IIC (28 patients) with RPL in cases with residual mass in the retroperitoneum. They were followed-up for a mean of 47.7 months (range 6-122). CR was achieved in 115 patients (92.7%) (75 of them received chemotherapy alone, 40 patients achieved CR following combined cytostatic-surgical treatment). Eleven patients relapsed. One hundred and nine patients (89.3%) are alive with NED. Ninety-four patients in Stages III and IV (8 patients III, 86 patients IV) underwent primary chemotherapy with additional surgical removal of residual metastases. They were followed-up for a mean of 50.5 months (range 6-125). CR was achieved in 65 patients (69.1%) (32 of them received chemotherapy alone, 33 patients achieved CR following combined cytostatic-surgical treatment). Eleven patients relapsed. Fifty-seven patients (60.6%) are alive NED. There were 11 patients with advanced germ cell testicular cancer (Stages IIC and IV) who underwent initial PVB chemotherapy without previous orchiectomy. Delayed orchiectomy was done simultaneously with surgical removal of residual mass in the retroperitoneum or in the lungs or at completion of chemotherapy alone. The toxicity of chemotherapy was moderate. There were drug-related deaths in ten patients (4%).