Clinical pattern and therapeutic results obtained in Germ-Cell testicular cancer in Spain based on a consecutive series of 1250 patients

BACKGROUND: Even its low incidence, germ-cell testicular cancer is very rel evant due to its presentation at young ages and its potential curability ov er 90%. Spanish Germ Cell Cancer Group (GG) joins the efforts of 51 differe nt Spanish centres to share their experience on the diagnosis and treatment of these special tumours. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We describe the clinical characteristics and the resul ts of treatment in the first 1,250 patients registered throughout 6 years b y the GG. RESULTS: 11% had previous criptorchidism. The most frequent initial local s imptomatology was increased testis size (90%). 20% lasted more than six mon ths in receiving the first treatment. Inguinal orquidectomy was done in 95% of patients. 435 cases (35%) were seminoma and 815 (65%) non-seminoma. 19% of seminoma and 78% of non-seminoma produced tumour markers. 75% of semino ma but only 56% of non-seminoma were clinical stage I. Following the IGCCCG prognosis classification, 20% of non-seminoma fitted in the poor-prognosis group. Stage I seminoma treatment was surveillance, chemotherapy and compl ementary radiotherapy in 60, 32 and 6%, respectively. Those features were 6 5, 35% and none in non-seminoma cases. Chemotherapy schedules used in advan ced cases were EP for seminoma and BEP or BOMP-EPI in non-seminoma, accordi ng to whether the patient was in the good or bad prognosis IGCCCG group. Wi th a median of follow-up in all serie of 30 months, we have obtained a thre e years overall survival of 98% (CI 95%, 96,4-9,6), whereas non-seminoma pa tients had a three years overall survival of 94% (CI 95%, 92-96). CONCLUSION: The Spanish germ cell testicular cancer clinical pattern is sim ilar to that registered in other occidental countries. Go-operative structu res like GG, are able to gather an extensive experience in a short period o f time that results in achieving a very high number of cured patients.