Outcomes of surveillance versus adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage IA and IB nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors.
BACKGROUND
Currently, it is accepted that risk assessment of clinical stage I (CS I) nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) patient is mainly dependent on the presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI). Initial active surveillance, adjuvant chemotherapy and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) are acceptable treatment options for these patients, but there is no uniform consensus. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of active surveillance with adjuvant chemotherapy.


METHODS
A total of 201 patients with CS I NSGCT after orchiectomy were included. Outcomes of active surveillance and adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic significance of risk factors for survival and relapse was evaluated.


RESULTS
Of the 201 patients, 110 (54.7%) received adjuvant chemotherapy, while the remaining 91 patients (45.3%) underwent surveillance. Relapses were significantly higher for patients underwent surveillance compared to adjuvant chemotherapy group (18.3 vs. 1.2%, p < 0.001). The 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rate for patients who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly better than those of patients underwent surveillance (97.6 vs. 80.8%, respectively; p < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that the presence of LVI (p = 0.01) and treatment option (p < 0.001) were prognostic factors for RFS and pT stage (p = 0.004) and invasion of rete testis (p = 0.004) and the presence of relapse (p < 0.001) were significant prognostic factors for OS. Multivariate analysis revealed that the treatment strategy was an independent prognostic factor for RFS (p < 0.001, HR 0.54). A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that treatment options (p = 0.031), embryonal carcinoma (EC) >50% (p = 0.013) and tumor diameter (p = 0.016) were found to be independent factors for predicting relapse.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with improved RFS compared with surveillance for CS I NSGCT patients. Moreover, the treatment strategy is an important prognostic indicator for RFS and a predictive factor for relapse. Although adjuvant chemotherapy seems to be a suitable treatment for patients with risk factors for relapse, surveillance is still preferred management option.
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Mahmut
M
Gumus
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey. ahmetknower@yahoo.com.|Tem Avrupa Otoyolu, Goztepe Cikisi, N0:1, 34214, Bagcilar, Istanbul, Turkey. ahmetknower@yahoo.com.
Ahmet
A
Bilici
Department of Medical Oncology, Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Hatice
H
Odabas
Department of Medical Oncology, Haydarpasa Numune Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Bala Basak Oven
BBO
Ustaalioglu
Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Onkoloji Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Nurten
N
Kandemir
Department of Medical Oncology, Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Umut
U
Demirci
Department of Medical Oncology, Okmeydani Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sener
S
Cihan
Department of Medical Oncology, Izmir Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
Ibrahim Vedat
IV
Bayoglu
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Karadeniz University, Trabzon, Turkey.
Turkan
T
Ozturk
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
Esma
E
Turkmen
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
Zurat
Z
Urakci
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
Mehmet Metin
MM
Seker
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Yusuf
Y
Gunaydin
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Fatih
F
Selcukbiricik
Department of Medical Oncology, Malatya State Hospital, Malatya, Turkey.
Nedim
N
Turan
Department of Medical Oncology, Medical Faculty, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
Alper
A
Sevinc
D000328:Adult; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
Chemotherapy; Nonseminomatous germ cell tumor; Stage I; Surveillance; Testicular cancer