High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for advanced testicular cancer

BACKGROUND: The present study was performed in order to investigate the efficacy and safety of high-dose chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced testicular cancer. METHODS: Seven patients were treated with high-dose carboplatin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide followed by peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Five patients received one cycle and two patients received two cycles of the high-dose chemotherapy. RESULTS: Of the seven patients, one achieved a complete response and four achieved partial responses with markers negative. As a result of subsequent surgery for residual tumors, three of the four partial responders showed no residual cancer cells. One patient who did not undergo surgery received radiotherapy after the high-dose chemotherapy and the residual tumors disappeared. All five patients who had either a complete or partial response are still alive and without evidence of disease at 12, 27, 30, 37 and 40 months. One patient is alive with disease at 7 months and one died of progressive disease at 6 months. The hematologic recovery after high-dose chemotherapy was rapid and non-hematologic toxicities were usually mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose chemotherapy followed by peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is safe and effective for use in patients with far-advanced testicular cancer, particularly when the high-dose chemotherapy is conducted as the initial treatment. Further larger and long-term follow-up studies are needed to define the role of high-dose chemotherapy on testicular cancer.