High-Dose Chemo and Stem Cell Transplant Cures Most Relapsed Testis Cancer

Testicular cancer survivors treated with four cycles of etoposide and cisplatin had significantly higher odds of renal impairment, hearing loss, and peripheral neuropathy compared with those treated with three cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin, according to a large, multi-center study. Nearly 41% of all survivors in the study showed some degree of at least mild renal dysfunction, which was strongly associated with cumulative cisplatin dose.

In the largest sequencing study to date on testicular cancer, researchers at Children’s National Hospital have identified genes that contribute to testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), the most common cancer among young, white men.

Results of a multi-institutional clinical trial recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology show that surgically removing affected lymph nodes in the retroperitoneum of patients with early metastatic seminoma is an effective alternative to chemotherapy and radiation, with fewer long-term side effects.