Evaluation of the M371-Test Under Real-life Conditions for Diagnosis and Follow Up of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to establish the performance of the M371-Test on the Thermocycler Rotor-GeneQ (Qiagen) platform for diagnosis and follow-up of testicular tumors and to evaluate the test under real-life conditions in comparison to the classical markers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH).

Patients and methods: Forty-four patients, of median age 29 years (range=24-84) were included in this prospective study at our institution between March 2021 and September 2022. Of the 44 patients, 23 had a suspicion of testicular cancer (TC) and 21 were under follow-up for TC. In total, 96 M371-Tests were performed and compared with AFP, β-HCG, LDH using histological diagnosis and/or computer tomography (CT) scan as the gold standard.

Results: In the patients with suspicion of TC, the M371-Test showed a sensitivity of 73.7%, AFP of 21%, LDH of 31.6% and β-HCG of 42.1%. In the patients under follow-up for TC, the M371-Test showed a sensitivity of 86.4%, AFP of 50%, LDH of 31.8% and β-HCG of 63.6%. In germ cell tumours (GCT)/non-seminomas, M371-Test had a sensitivity of 83.3%, AFP of 77.8%, LDH of 38.9% and β-HCG of 66.7%. In GCT/seminomas, M371-Test had a sensitivity of 85%, AFP of 5%, LDH of 30% and β-HCG of 50%.

Conclusion: Under real life conditions performed on the real-time Thermocycler Rotor-GeneQ (Qiagen) platform, the M371-Test shows an outstanding performance and is far beyond the sensitivity of the classical markers for detecting GCTs and in the follow-up of patients after GCT, especially in seminomas.

Keywords: Germ cell tumors; M371-test; miRNA; testicular.