Late Relapse of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors

Abstract

Germ cell tumors of the testis have an overall survival rate greater than 90% as a result of a successful multidisciplinary approach to management. Late relapse affects a subset of patients however, and tends to be chemorefractory and the overall prognosis is poor. Surgery is the mainstay in management of late relapse but salvage chemotherapy can be successful. In this review, the clinical presentation and detection of late relapse, clinical outcomes, and predictors of survival in late relapse and the importance of a multidisciplinary treatment approach for successful management of late relapse are discussed.

Keywords: Germ cell tumor; Late relapse; Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.