Salvage chemotherapy in relapsed germ cell tumors

Issues concerning the optimal salvage treatment in patients with germ cell tumors are for the most part controversial. As the majority of patients wil l suffer systemic relapses, chemotherapy will remain the mainstay of any sa lvage treatment. However. the question of whether to use conventional-dose or high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) immediately arises. Prognostic factors hav e recently been recognized as an aid in this decision. However, as reliable data are lacking for many clinical scenarios, the salvage treatment of ger m-cell tumors continues to be a therapeutic challenge.