title: Transplantation for refractory germ cell tumors: does it really make a difference?
abstract: High-dose chemotherapy (HDC) has been used over the past 25 years for germ-cell tumors in a variety of clinical scenarios. There is consensus at this point that its use as part of first-line treatment does not benefit patients with high-risk tumors. Long-term results of prospective trials in patients with relapsed or with refractory disease indicate that a fraction of them achieve long-term remissions consistent with cures. While HDC constitutes for many oncologists in the US an accepted treatment modality for relapsed or refractory GCT, controversy surrounds its use in those settings. Prognostic models have been developed that allow to prospectively identify poor prognosis patients that might benefit from novel HDC-based approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 423, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. ynieto@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Yago
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nieto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D018579:Patient Selection; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents