TESTICULAR CANCER - STATE-OF-THE-ART

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in men aged 15 to 30 y ears. In the 1990s testicular cancer has become one of the most curabl e solid neoplasms, and it can serve as a paradigm for the multimodal t reatment of solid malignancies, making even a metastasized cancer a cu rable disease. The dramatic improvements in survival have occurred as a result of the combination of effective diagnostic techniques, improv ement in serum tumour markers, modification of surgical technique and, above all, the development of highly effective multidrug chemotherape utic regimens based on cisplatin. In the 1990s overall survival for al l stages of testicular cancer should be well above 80% and should appr oach 100% for patients with low stage disease. Important studies formi ng the basis for the most up to dale multimodality treatment are revie wed in this article. Alternative strategies for salvage therapy in poo r risk patients and those who failed to respond to treatment are discu ssed, as well as minimization of toxicity in low risk patients.