TY - JOUR
T1 - Extragonadal germ cell tumors. Clinicopathologic findings and treatment experience in 12 patients
AU - McLeod, David G.
AU - Taylor, H. Grant
AU - Skoog, Steven J.
AU - Knight, Robert D.
AU - Dawson, Nancy A.
AU - Waxman, Jeffrey A.
PY - 1988/3/15
Y1 - 1988/3/15
N2 - In patients with primary germ cell tumors, treatment with combination chemotherapy followed by surgical debulking of residual tissue usually produces favorable results. The best treatment for patients with extragonadal germ cell tumors (EGCT) remains a problem. In our series of 12 patients, important clinical features were related to the site of bulky tumor, and all patients exhibited sharply elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), beta subunit human chorionic genadotropin (beta‐HCG), and/or alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP). Each patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy, and ten were treated with the same combination chemotherapy—cyclophosphamide, actinomycin, vinblastine, bleomycin, and cisplatin (VAB) alternating with VP‐16 and vincristine (VV). Of these ten patients, five died of progressive disease, three of whom had brain metastases. The other five are alive and clinically free of disease. The addition of VP‐16 and vincristine did not improve responses. Advanced disease at presentation contributes to the poorer prognosis for these patients. Earlier diagnosis and surgical debulking may improve the long‐term survival of patients with this disease.
AB - In patients with primary germ cell tumors, treatment with combination chemotherapy followed by surgical debulking of residual tissue usually produces favorable results. The best treatment for patients with extragonadal germ cell tumors (EGCT) remains a problem. In our series of 12 patients, important clinical features were related to the site of bulky tumor, and all patients exhibited sharply elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), beta subunit human chorionic genadotropin (beta‐HCG), and/or alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP). Each patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy, and ten were treated with the same combination chemotherapy—cyclophosphamide, actinomycin, vinblastine, bleomycin, and cisplatin (VAB) alternating with VP‐16 and vincristine (VV). Of these ten patients, five died of progressive disease, three of whom had brain metastases. The other five are alive and clinically free of disease. The addition of VP‐16 and vincristine did not improve responses. Advanced disease at presentation contributes to the poorer prognosis for these patients. Earlier diagnosis and surgical debulking may improve the long‐term survival of patients with this disease.
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U2 - 10.1002/1097-0142(19880315)61:6<1187::AID-CNCR2820610622>3.0.CO;2-8
DO - 10.1002/1097-0142(19880315)61:6<1187::AID-CNCR2820610622>3.0.CO;2-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 2449276
AN - SCOPUS:0023856744
SN - 0008-543X
VL - 61
SP - 1187
EP - 1191
JO - Cancer
JF - Cancer
IS - 6
ER -