Treatment outcome of children and adolescents with germ cell tumor after combined therapy---a report of 44 cases

• Published in: Ai zheng = Aizheng = Chinese journal of cancer Vol. 25; no. 12; p. 1529
• Main Authors: Sun, Xiao-Fei, Yang, Qun-Ying, Zhen, Zi-Jun, Xia, Yi, Huang, Zhi-Hui, Ling, Jia-Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.12.2006
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bleomycin - therapeutic use; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Child; Child, Preschool; Cisplatin - therapeutic use; Endodermal Sinus Tumor - drug therapy; Endodermal Sinus Tumor - pathology; Endodermal Sinus Tumor - surgery; Etoposide - therapeutic use; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Infant; Male; Mediastinal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Mediastinal Neoplasms - pathology; Mediastinal Neoplasms - surgery; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Neoplasm Staging; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal - drug therapy; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal - pathology; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal - surgery; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; Ovarian Neoplasms - surgery; Remission Induction; Survival Rate; Teratoma - drug therapy; Teratoma - pathology; Teratoma - surgery; Testicular Neoplasms - drug therapy; Testicular Neoplasms - pathology; Testicular Neoplasms - surgery; Treatment Outcome; Vincristine - therapeutic use

The overall survival rate of children and adolescents with germ cell tumor is more than 75% after adopting combined therapy. However, the prognosis varies with stage, pathologic type, and primary tumor site. This study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of children and adolescents with germ cell tumor, and to investigate the prognostic factors and therapeutic strategy. Clinical characteristics, treatment outcome, and prognostic factors of 44 children and adolescents with germ cell tumor, treated in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from Jan. 1997 to Dec. 2005, were analyzed. Survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Of the 44 patients, 25 received adjuvant chemotherapy after operation; 1 received operation alone; 18 received induction chemotherapy. Of the 18 patients, 7 received tumor resection after chemotherapy; 2 patients with primary mediastinal chorioepithelioma with multiple metastases received radiotherapy on residual disease after chemotherapy; 1 patient