title: Surgery in patients with advanced germ cell malignancy following a clinical partial response to chemotherapy.
abstract: Twenty-one patients with metastatic germ cell tumors achieved only partial clinical tumor regression following chemotherapy, and underwent surgical biopsy or resection of the residual tumor deposits. Sixteen (76%) are at present clinically disease-free after a median 30 + months (range 17-50 months) from the time of surgery, and five (24%) died after 9-29 months. Adverse prognostic signs were the finding of persistent cancer at histopathological examination of the resected tumor masses, and the presence of elevated serum tumor markers at the time of surgery. Postchemotherapy surgery in this setting provides tissue for the prognostically important histopathological examination on which a decision regarding further chemotherapy may be based. In addition, it provides tumor bulk reduction in the cases of differentiated teratoma and persistent cancer.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000378:metabolism; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D013724:Teratoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D014747:Vinblastine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D001761:Bleomycin; D014747:Vinblastine; D002945:Cisplatin