Cisplatin, etoposide, bleomycin first-line therapy and early resection of residual tumor in far-advanced germinal testis cancer

Abstract

Forty consecutive patients with far-advanced germinal testis tumors (lymph node metastases > 10 cm, pulmonary nodules > 5 cm, extrapulmonary spread, alpha-fetoprotein > 1000 ng/ml, human chorionic gonadotropin > 50,000 mIU/ml) were treated with five courses of cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (PEB). Twenty-five patients underwent surgery for the removal of residual masses after the first three inductions. Fibrotic—necrotic tissue was resected in 11 cases, 12 had mature teratoma, and residual cancer was found in 2. After the combined-modality treatment, 37 patients (82.5%) entered complete remission (CR): 25 (62.5%) with PEB and 12 (30%) with PEB and complete removal of the residual tumor. One patient progressed on therapy, and two others had incomplete resection of the residual disease. Hematologic toxicity was moderate and gastrointestinal toxicity was very mild. After a median follow-up period of 24 months (range, 13–40), 33 patients (82.5%) remain continuously disease-free, and 4 experienced relapse. Only one of these was salvaged with further surgery and chemotherapy. First-line PEB therapy combined with early resection of residual tumor induced a very high continuous CR rate in patients with far-advanced germinal testis cancer, and toxicity was moderate.