Hussain Syed A, Ma Yuk Ting, Palmer Daniel H, Hutton Paul, Cullen Michael H
Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Edgbaston, Birmingham , UK.
Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008 Oct;8(10):1659-73. doi: 10.1586/14737140.8.10.1659.
Germ cell tumors are derived from cells of the germ cell lineage and are the most common solid malignancies to affect young Caucasian men between the ages of 15 and 40 years. All testicular germ cell tumors develop from the same precursor lesion, intratubular germ cell neoplasia unclassified, which in turn is thought to arise from malignant transformation of a primordial germ cell or gonocyte. These tumors are characterized by extreme chemosensitivity and are considered a model for curative disease. In spite of this, a small subset of patients with metastatic disease fail to achieve a complete response with cisplatin-based chemotherapy or relapse from complete remission. Understanding the molecular biology may help the design of new therapies for those patients with a poor prognosis and could also improve the treatment of cancer in general. Current understanding of the role of genetic and epigenetic factors in the etiology of germ cell tumors and the biochemical mechanisms underlying chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance is discussed in detail in this review.
生殖细胞肿瘤起源于生殖细胞谱系的细胞，是影响15至40岁年轻白种男性的最常见实体恶性肿瘤。所有睾丸生殖细胞肿瘤均由相同的前驱病变——未分类的管内生殖细胞肿瘤形成，而后者又被认为是由原始生殖细胞或生殖母细胞的恶性转化产生。这些肿瘤具有极高的化疗敏感性，被视为可治愈疾病的典范。尽管如此，一小部分转移性疾病患者对基于顺铂的化疗无法产生完全反应，或从完全缓解状态复发。了解分子生物学可能有助于为那些预后不良的患者设计新的治疗方法，也可能改善总体癌症治疗。本综述详细讨论了目前对遗传和表观遗传因素在生殖细胞肿瘤病因中的作用以及化疗敏感性和耐药性背后生化机制的理解。
