Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Extragonadal Germ Cell Tumors: A Single-center Experience.

BACKGROUND

The prognosis for non-seminomatous extragonadal germ cell tumors (EGCTs), especially mediastinal, has been shown to be worse than for seminomatous EGCTs.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Fourteen patients with EGCT (seven pure seminomas and seven non-seminomas) were treated at the Kanazawa University Hospital between 1992 and 2014; the primary tumor sites were mediastinum in nine patients and retroperitoneum in five patients. All patients were treated with cisplatin-based combination chemotherapeutic regimens followed by a multimodal strategy that included high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT), aggressive surgery, and early salvage chemotherapy.

RESULTS

Although all patients with seminomatous EGCT achieved long-term survival, almost all patients with non-seminomatous EGCT had elevated serum tumor markers and high mortality rates. However, we experienced that patients with mediastinal non-seminomatous EGCT achieved long-term cancer-free survival with HDCT. The 5-year overall survival of patients with seminomatous and non-seminomatous EGCT was 100% and 44%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Herein we describe the treatment outcomes of patients with EGCT at our Institute and propose HDCT reconsideration for poor-risk patients.