title: Does age affect the prognosis of patients with testicular germ cell tumor?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, the effect of age on the prognosis of testicular germ cell tumors in patients over 40 was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-three patients with testicular germ cell tumor who were 40 years old and over were identified in our germ cell tumor database. Patients were grouped according to their age with those between 40 and 44, 45 and 49 and 50 and over constituting groups I, II and III, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 15% of the patients of group III had localized disease (p = 0.002). Group III patients had a significantly lower response rate to initial chemotherapy and a higher disease progression rate during therapy (complete response rate: 33.3%, progression rate: 44.4%, p = 0.035). The multivariate analysis revealed that advanced stage was the only independent prognostic factor for survival (p = 0.0011).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Testicular germ cell tumor patients over 50 years old presented with a more advanced stage and had higher disease progression and disease mortality rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kubilay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inci
authors.forename: Hasan Serkan
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akdogan
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ergen
authors.forename: Celik
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tasar
authors.forename: Haluk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019992:Databases as Topic; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents