Management of germ cell testicular cancer with pulmonary metastases

Twenty eight patients with germ cell testicular cancer pulmonary metastases received primary chemotherapy including bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP). Complete response was achieved in 21 (75%) patients, in 11 of them CR was achieved following chemotherapy alone. Postchemotherapy surgery of residual mass was performed in 12 (42.9%) patients with normalized serum tumor markers. Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed in one patient, pulmonary surgery in four, and both postchemotherapy treatments in 7 patients. Overall cure rate was 89.3%, 26 (92.9%) patients are still alive at a mean follow-up of 19.7+ months (range, 3-34+ months) after the treatment start. Two (7.1%) patients died: one of them due to disease progression during chemotherapy, and the second one due to postoperative complication (acute respiratory failure). Relapse of disease was observed in one patient 21 months following CR achievement, and sequential chemotherapy was introduced. Authors recommend surgical remove of all radiologically detected residual deposits, because the available imaging methods are not adequate for determining the histologic composition of residual mass, which is decisive for further therapy and has prognostic value.