title: Etoposide, cisplatin, bleomycin, and cyclophosphamide (ECBC) as first-line chemotherapy for poor-risk non-seminomatous germ cell tumors.
abstract: Sixty-one patients with advanced metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell tumors were treated with etoposide 120 mg/m2, cisplatin 30 mg/m2, bleomycin 12 mg/m2, and cyclophosphamide 300 mg/m2 daily for four days; and additional bleomycin bolus injection of 15 mg was given on day 1. Fifty patients (82%) were treated with four to six courses at 3-week intervals. Forty patients (66%) attained complete remission, and further 7 patients (11%) achieved a marker-negative partial remission accounting for a favorable response rate of 77%. Hematologic toxicity was considerable and there were two treatment-related deaths. After a median observation time of 47 months (range 12 to 108 months), 43 patients were alive, of which 38 had continuous complete remission, one a second complete remission, two marker-negative stable disease and two progressive disease. Our results are similar to those reported by other investigators for poor-risk metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell tumors treated with dose-intensified regimens.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik III, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerl
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clemm
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hentrich
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hartenstein
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wilmanns
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001761:Bleomycin; D005047:Etoposide; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002945:Cisplatin