Long-Term Followup Results of 1 Cycle of Adjuvant Bleomycin, Etoposide and Cisplatin Chemotherapy for High Risk Clinical Stage I Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis

Abstract

One cycle of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin effectively decreases the risk of relapse in patients with high risk stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumor of the testis. It has minimal side effects and can be a valuable alternative to retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.

Cross-cultural development of an EORTC questionnaire to assess health-related quality of life in patients with testicular cancer: the EORTC QLQ-TC26

“…Patients with seminomas often receive additional radiotherapy [8], but also carboplatin-based chemotherapy has been shown to be a good alternative for stage I seminomas [9]. Chemotherapy with bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin shows very good results for non-seminomas and seminomas with a stage higher than I [10]. Another therapy option in case of residual tumour mass after chemotherapy is retroperitoneal lymph node dissection with nerve sparing [2, 11].…”

Management of Non-Seminomatous Germ Cell Tumor of the Testis

“…Long-term follow up extending 10 years has confirmed the low relapse rates associated with adjuvant chemotherapy. (Chevreau et al, 2004;Westermann et al, 2008) Similarly low recurrence rates have been reported in other series also using 2 courses of BEP, (Cullen et al, 1996;Oliver, Raja, Ong, & Gallagher, 1992) allowing clinicians to draw the conclusion that there is little doubt on the efficacy of chemotherapy in preventing recurrence and achieving cure rates similar to surveillance or RPLND strategies for CS I NSGCT patients.…”

“…Finally, it is worth noting that fertility rates during chemotherapy will drop substantially, recovering to approximately an 85% conception rate for couples desiring children, with a mean of 3 years of follow up. (Huyghe et al, 2004) (Westermann, et al, 2008) Data from 40 of the 44 patients were analyzed. Thirty-five showed no evidence of disease during a median follow up of 99 months.…”

Management of Stage I Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors

“…In the small cohorts reported earlier, long-term adverse effects of a single cycle of BEP were minimal and included reports of intermittent grades I-II tinnitus and grade II peripheral neuropathy. 73,74 A major concern for long-term survivors of testicular cancer who receive chemotherapy is the risk of secondary malignancies. In one of the largest follow-up cohorts, Fung and colleagues 78 retrospectively analyzed secondary malignancy rates in men treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.…”