Clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of testis. Observation vs retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.

Between 1980 and 1989, 186 patients with testicular tumors were seen at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. Of these, 66.6 percent (124/186) were diagnosed to have nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGT) and 22 percent (41/186) were clinically determined to have Stage I disease. Patients with clinical Stage I NSGT either underwent observation or retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND). Recurrence in the observation group of patients was 23.5 percent (4/17) between four and eighteen months (mean 10 months) with the retroperitoneum being the most common site. All but 1 patient (80%) were salvaged with platinum-based combination chemotherapy. Of the 24 patients who had RPLND, 21 percent (5/24) had a false-negative metastatic evaluation. All the patients who had surgically documented metastatic disease were successfully treated with chemotherapy. The similar recurrence rates in the observation group and the false-negative RPLND group suggest that the failure rate in the observation group is a result of the inability to stage accurately patients with NSGT. RPLND continues to be the standard therapy in patients with clinical Stage I disease. Despite its high recurrence rate, observation should, however, be offered to well-motivated and selected patients since salvage platinum-based combination chemotherapy is very effective and the majority of patients in this group are spared a major operative procedure.