This review covers the management of patients once they have been diagnosed with a germ cell tumor. We take note of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines [1, 2] and European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group report [3] and expand on controversial areas where more than one management option exists. Although we will only discuss testicular germ cell tumors, the same principle...

Our study was conducted to evaluate the impact of tumor cell contamination in peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) harvests on the clinical outcome of patients with germ-cell tumors undergoing high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous PBPC reinfusion. Samples of mononuclear cells from progenitor cell harvests of 57 patients with advanced or recurrent germ-cell tumors were retrospectively ...

BACKGROUND The origin of extragonadal retroperitoneal germ cell tumors remains controversial. Whether they develop primarily in the retroperitoneum or whether they are metastases of a primary testicular tumor has long been debated. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 26 patients treated as having primary extragonadal retroperitoneal germ cell tumors based upon the findings of tes...

Objectives: To evaluate lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme 1 (LD-1) as a tumor marker of germ cell tumors. Methods: A literature search included a CancerLit and Medline computer search of articles regarding germ cell tumors and LD-1 published between 1963 to 99 and a manual search of reference lists, theses, and textbooks. Forty articles, letters to the editor, and abstracts on testicular germ cel...

INTRODUCTION We present a case of nonseminomatous germ cell tumor of the testes with acute urinary retention secondary to urethral metastasis. This presentation, and similar cases of urethral metastasis from this tumor, have not been reported previously. CASE PRESENTATION A 35-year-old Caucasian man presented to hospital with a history of acute urinary retention. On examination he was found t...

The authors report an extremely rare case of de novo spinal teratoma after treatment for intracranial germ cell tumor. A 17-year-old male developed pain of bilateral lower extremities and urinary retention 18 months after complete remission of intracranial mixed germ cell tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge spinal tumor associated with spina bifida occulta. Total resection was per...

Pure non-gestational choriocarcinoma is a primary germ cell neoplasm that has been defined as a tumor without other germ cell elements. The current study presents an extremely rare case of non-gestational pure choriocarcinoma in a postmenarcheal young female and describes details of the tumor, including the clinicopathological findings. The patient was a 10-year-old female who underwent salping...