Combined management of malignant teratoma of the testis

Abstract

Intensive chemotherapy with bleomycin and vinblastine was used as initial treatment in patients with advanced testicular teratoma and after relapse following lymph-node irradiation in patients with early-stage disease. Between January, 1976, and March, 1978, 84 patients, 28 with early disease and 56 with advanced disease, were treated. All 28 men with early-stage disease are alive and disease-free. Patients with advanced disease were divided into two groups. Patients with bulky multiple lung metastases and those with liver involvement did poorly, only 4 of 23 (17.4%) being disease-free. Conversely, patients with bulky abdominal nodes and those with limited lung disease did well, 17 of 21 previously untreated patients (80.9%) being alive and disease-free. Within the latter group, 16 patients were managed with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and/or surgery. Of these, 15 (93.4%) are disease-free.