Surgical and Medical Management of Germ Cell Tumors of the Chest

Abstract

Germ cell tumors are highly curable when treated appropriately. The majority of germ cell tumors arise in the testes, with a proportion having pulmonary parenchymal or mediastinal metastases. For patients who have such tumors, prompt diagnosis and treatment with chemotherapy are essential. A subset of these patients will have persistent radiographic abnormalities after chemotherapy and will benefit from post-chemotherapy resection of residual masses. These patients need to be distinguished from those who should be observed and those who require further chemotherapy. A small proportion of patients with germ cell tumors will present with tumors arising in the mediastinum. Prompt diagnosis, with adequate tissue for histopathologic and immunohistochemical staining, is essential. Primary therapy for such patients should be chemotherapy, except for some patients with mediastinal seminomas in whom radiotherapy is preferable. Mediastinal nonseminomatous germ cell tumors have a poor prognosis due, in part, to their bulk and relative chemosensitivity, but also due in part to their association with non-germ cell elements and acute leukemia. Proper coordination of the different modalities is essential in optimizing the cure rate of patients with these tumors.