title: Two cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy for low-volume retroperitoneal stage II nonseminomatous germ cell tumours.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the oncological efficacy of reducing cisplatin-based chemotherapy to two cycles in patients with low-volume retroperitoneal stage II nonseminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCTs).
  
  
  METHODS
  From October 1988 until January 2004, two cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy were administered in 59 patients with low-volume retroperitoneal clinical stage II NSGCT (retroperitoneal mass of <5 cm in diameter). Regardless of remission detected on computed tomography, 6 weeks after chemotherapy the patients had a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) to assess residual active tumour or mature teratoma (open modified bilateral RPLND until 1992, then laparoscopic unilateral template RPLND).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The chemotherapy was effective, as no active tumour was found in any of RPLND specimens. Mature teratoma was present in lymphatic tissue in 23 of 59 patients (39%). In one patient there was a pulmonary recurrence, successfully treated with cisplatin-based salvage chemotherapy. One patient died from an accident but with no evidence of tumour, and 56 patients remained free of disease at a mean follow-up of 98.6 months. No patient died from disease. All patients had antegrade ejaculation after laparoscopic RPLND, as did 89% after open RPLND.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this pilot study, the oncological efficacy of two cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy was favourable, but this approach still cannot be recommended as a standard treatment for patients with low-volume retroperitoneal stage II disease. RPLND after chemotherapy has diagnostic (detecting active tumour) and therapeutic (removing mature teratoma) value and can be done laparoscopically. Based on the present results a prospective randomized trial seems reasonable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Innsbruck, Austria. hannes.steiner@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Tilko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gozzi
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akkad
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bartsch
authors.forename: Andreas P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018237:Germinoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002945:Cisplatin