High-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation as treatment for relapsing testicular cancer

In testicular cancer the tumor shows a high response rate to chemotherapy with dose responsiveness. However, when it is treated with high-dose chemotherapy, myelosuppression is severe. To overcome this problem, autologous bone marrow transplantation has been attempted. This is a report of an 18-year-old man with advanced nonseminomatous testicular cancer (stage IIB, embryonal carcinoma and teratoma) with relapse after first course of therapy. He was treated with high-dose chemotherapy (etoposide 1,750 mg/m2, cisplatin 200 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg) and with autologous bone marrow transplantation. This patient has been in complete remission for more than 15 months without severe side effects or complications. We consider this a striking response to treatment in an early phase of relapsing testicular cancer.