Improved survival with cyclic chemotherapy for nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis.

Forty-eight patients with advanced nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis received a combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (CISCAII) and a modified combination of vinblastine and bleomycin (VBIV) cyclic chemotherapy. Forty-four (92%) have achieved a complete remission. No patient in complete remission has relapsed with a mean follow-up of 139.0 weeks (SEM 7.0 weeks). The patients were stratified according to the modified Samuels clinical staging criteria. Thirty-seven (77%) had advanced disease (stage III-B3 to III-B5), ten of whom had advanced visceral non-lung disease (stage III-B5). Chemotherapy was individualized by tumor volume and response to therapy. Two courses were delivered after complete remission or the development of a stable mass with negative serum biomarkers. Twenty-four patients (50%) were explored for a persistent and stable mass. No viable cancer was found; 15 (62%) had mature teratomas and nine (38%) had scar. No patients suffered from doxorubicin cardiotoxicity, clinical pulmonary bleomycin toxicity, or persistent cisplatin renal failure. Four patients died. One patient, an unrecognized drug abuser, died of toxicity. Three with far-advanced tumors died of progressive disease. CISCAII/VBIV cyclic chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy with vinblastine, bleomycin, and cisplatin, resulting in a 92% complete remission rate and a significant reduction in long-term toxicity.