Urinary excretion of platinum in chemotherapy-treated long-term survivors of testicular cancer

As the majority of patients with metastatic testicular cancer are cured by cisplatin-based chemotherapy and can expect an additional life span of arou nd 50 years, late toxicity is of particular relevance. Urine and serum conc entrations of platinum were determined by voltammetry in 37 patients at 5.3 to 16.8 years after cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Urinary excretion and se rum levels of platinum were 100 to 1000 times higher in patients than in un exposed controls. There may be an association between platinum storage and endocrinologic and metabolic late sequelae, as well as a risk of second can cer. However, further research is necessary to clarify the biological relev ance of long-term storage of platinum.