Abstract
The best treatment of patients with clinical Stage I nonseminomatous germ cell testicular tumors (NSGCTT) remains controversial. Archival formalin fixed paraffin-embedded testicular tumor specimens from 23 patients diagnosed between 1977 and 1988 were available for analysis. All patients had clinical Stage I NSGCTT, and the specimens were prepared using Hedley's technique and propidium iodide staining prior to flow cytometric ploidy analysis. Tumors from 3 patients (13 %) were classified as DNA diploid; the remaining 20 tumors had DNA aneuploid patterns. Eleven patients had retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND); 2 (18 %) were upstaged to pathologic NSGCTT Stage IIA, and 1 had a subsequent relapse in the contralateral testicle. Among 12 patients in the surveillance protocols, 3 (25 %) had tumor recurrence. All patients who were either upstaged to pathologic NSGCTT Stage IIA or had tumor recurrence while under surveillance had DNA aneuploid patterns. The 3 patients with DNA diploid tumor patterns had been in the surveillance protocols. To date, with fifteen months minimum follow-up, none has had tumor recurrence. Such data suggest that flow cytometric DNA ploidy analysis, when used as an adjuvant to more traditional prognostic parameters, may help to identify a group of patients with clinical Stage I NSGCTT at very low risk for recurrence and perhaps well-suited for surveillance management.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
