Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER
Volume 155, Issue -, Pages 64-72Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.06.022
Keywords
Germ cell cancer; Adjuvant chemotherapy; Primary RPLND; Long-term toxicity; Late toxicities
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After 13 years of follow-up, it was observed that one cycle of adjuvant BEP remains superior to RPLND in preventing recurrence in patients with testicular CS I NSGCT, showing good tolerance without significant long-term toxicities.
Background: One cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy with bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin (BEP) has shown superiority in recurrence-free survival over retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in patients with clinical stage (CS) I non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCTs) of the testis in the setting of a phase III trial. We report the recurrences and late toxicities of this study after 13 years of follow-up. Methods: Questionnaires from 382 patients with CS I NSGCT treated with 1 cycle of adjuvant BEP (arm A) or RPLND thorn two cycles of adjuvant BEP in cases of pathological stage II disease (arm B) were evaluated regarding recurrences and late toxicity. Overall, information on recurrence status was available in 337 patients, and 170 questionnaires were evaluable for toxicity (arm A: 95; arm B: 75). Results: With a median follow-up of 13.8 years (0-22), 3 patients (1.6%) in arm A and 16 patients (8.4%) in arm B experienced recurrence. The 15-year PFS in arm A/B was 99% (CI 96-100%)/92% (CI 89-99%) (p = 0.0049). The 15-year OS in arm A/B was 93% (CI 87-97%)/ 93% (CI 86-97%) (p = 0.83). Eight patients (4.2%) in arm A and four patients (2.1%) in arm B showed metachronous secondary testicular cancer (p = 0.26). Five patients (2.6%) in arm A and four patients (2.1%) in arm B developed other malignancies. Toxicities were not significantly different apart from retrograde ejaculation, which occurred more frequently after RPLND (10% versus 24%, p = 0.01). Conclusions: With long-term observation, one cycle of BEP remains superior to RPLND in preventing recurrence and was tolerated without any clinically relevant long-term toxicities. 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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