In a single-institution retrospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Taza et al found that the presence of teratoma in primary tumor and postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection specimens was not a prognostic factor in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumor.
Study Details
The study involved 1,224 consecutive patients evaluated at Indiana University between 1990 and 2016 who had metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumor and had primary testicular tumor specimens from orchiectomy. All patients received cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy.
“Presence of teratoma in [orchiectomy] and postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection specimens was not a prognostic factor in this large retrospective study of patients with [nonseminomatous] germ cell tumor.”— Taza et al
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Key Findings
Of the 1,224 patients, 689 patients had teratoma in orchiectomy specimens and 535 did not. The estimated 5-year progression-free survival was 61.9% among patients with teratoma vs 63.1% among those without teratoma (P = .66). The difference remained nonsignificant in analysis adjusting for age, International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) risk classification, presence of lung metastasis, and number of metastatic sites (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.06, P = .60).
Estimated 5-year overall survival was 82.2% vs 81.4% (P = .91). The difference again remained nonsignificant in analysis adjusting for age, IGCCCG risk group, presence of lung metastasis, and number of metastatic sites (HR = 0.99, P = .96).
Among the 473 patients who underwent postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, the estimated 5-year progression-free survival was 65.9% among those with pure teratoma in postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection specimens vs 79.1% among those with necrosis only (P = .06); estimated 5-year overall survival was 90.3% vs 93.4% (P = .21).
The investigators concluded: “Presence of teratoma in [orchiectomy] and postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection specimens was not a prognostic factor in this large retrospective study of patients with [nonseminomatous] germ cell tumor.”
Nabil Adra, MD, of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, is the corresponding author for the Journal of Clinical Oncology article.
Disclosure: The study was supported by internal funds from Indiana University and by a grant from the National Cancer Institute. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.
