Surveillance for stage I nonseminoma testicular cancer: outcomes and long-term follow-up in a population-based cohort.

PURPOSE: To describe treatment results in a large cohort with stage I nonseminoma germ cell cancer (NSGCC) treated in a surveillance program. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1, 1984, to December 31, 2007, 1,226 patients with stage I NSGCC, including high-risk patients with vascular invasion, were observed in a surveillance program. RESULTS: The relapse rate after orchiectomy alone was 30.6% at 5 years. Presence of vascular invasion together with embryonal carcinoma and rete testis invasion in the testicular primary identified a group with a relapse risk of 50%. Without risk factors, the relapse risk was 12%. Eighty percent of relapses were diagnosed within the first year after orchiectomy. The median time to relapse was 5 months (range, 1 to 308 months). Early relapses were mainly detected by increase in tumor markers, and late relapses were detected by computed tomography scans. Relapses after 5 years were seen in 0.5% of the whole cohort or in 1.6% of relapsing patients. The majority of relapses (94.4%) belonged to the good prognostic group according to the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group classification. The disease-specific survival at 15 years was 99.1%. CONCLUSION: A surveillance policy for patients with stage I NSGCC is a safe approach associated with an excellent cure rate and an overall low treatment burden despite a high relapse rate in a small group of patients. We recommend surveillance for patients with stage I NSGCC with immediate systemic treatment at relapse. Clearly defined risk factors for relapse are presented if an option of risk-adapted treatment is preferred.

A nationwide cohort study of stage I seminoma patients followed on a surveillance program.

BACKGROUND: Increasing concerns about late effects after adjuvant treatment for stage I seminoma have made surveillance an attractive alternative. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the surveillance strategy in a nationwide cohort study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective, population-based study of Danish patients diagnosed with stage I seminoma between 1984 and 2008 and followed for 5 yr (n=1954). Patient data were linked with national registries on November 30, 2012, to obtain information on late relapse, vital status, and cause of death. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival, relapse rates, time to relapse, detection of relapse, and prognostic factors for relapse were described for the cohort. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine survival probabilities. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Median follow-up time was 15.1 yr. In total, 369 patients relapsed after a median 13.7 mo. DSS after 15 yr was 99.3%. Tumor size was a significant factor for relapse. Either vascular invasion or invasion of epididymis was significant if the other factor was excluded from analysis. Limitations include the retrospective nature of the study and the number of missing values in analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In the world's largest study of stage I seminoma patients, we found surveillance to be a safe alternative to adjuvant therapies. Tumor size was a significant factor for relapse, together with either invasion of epididymis or vascular invasion. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this nationwide study, we looked at the outcomes of patients with stage I seminoma followed for 5 yr. We found that surveillance is a safe alternative to adjuvant treatment.

[Unknown primary tumour--diagnostic strategies and treatment]. / Ukendt primaertumor--udredning og behandling.

Unknown primary tumour (UPT) is defined as a histologically confirmed metastatic malignancy for which no primary site has been detected. It accounts for approximately 3-5% of all malignant neoplasms. UPT represents a group of heterogeneous cancers with rapid progression and random, atypical metastases. This article describes the diagnostic strategies, treatment, prognosis and survival of patients with UPT.