Treatment of metastatic nonseminomatous testicular cancer: a preliminary report of induction chemotherapy followed by maintenance chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Patients with metastatic nonseminomatous testicular cancer received an induction regimen consisting of bleomycin in 24-hour infusions and bolus iv doses of vinblastine followed by an Adriamycin and cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) combination. Patients achieving complete remission after one or two cycles of this induction chemotherapy were then randomized to receive either radiotherapy (RT) to the previously involved tumor areas or maintenance chemotherapy (MCT) with CCNU, methotrexate, and vinblastine for 2 years. Among 62 evaluable patients, induction chemotherapy achieved 15 (24%) partial remissions and 35 (56%) complete remissions. Two patients with partial remission and single pulmonary metastases were rendered disease-free by surgical resection of residual tumor. Twenty patients received MCT and 15 received RT. To date, median survival is 10,8+ months in the MCT group with five relapses and 12.5 months in the RT group with two relapses. Toxicity in the induction phase was moderately severe with two drug-related deaths.