PURPOSE Most men with stage I testicular seminoma are cured with surgery alone, which is a preferred strategy per national guidelines. The current pattern of practice among US radiation oncologists (ROs) is unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS We surveyed practicing US ROs via an online questionnaire. Respondent's characteristics, self-rated knowledge, perceived patient compliance rates with observ...

PURPOSE The cure rate of stage I seminoma patients is close to 100% and so the recent focus of clinical research has shifted onto the prevention of treatment-related complications. We assessed long-term cardiovascular complications and identified risk factors for cardiovascular events (CVEs) in stage I seminoma patients. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included 406 consecutive stage I...

AIMS Parvovirus B19 has been demonstrated in testes of patients with germ cell tumours but not in controls, raising the possibility that the virus has an aetiological role in these tumours. The aims of this study were to investigate the association of the virus with germ cell tumours and to localise the virus histologically. METHODS DNA was extracted from paraffin wax embedded sections of tes...

Stage I seminoma is highly curable. There are different treatment options for this disease: radiotherapy, surveillance and chemotherapy. In recent years, adjuvant chemotherapy in particular has been extensively evaluated. This paper offers suggestions about the advantages and disadvantages of the different strategies, which will be discussed considering prognostic factors; future perspectives w...

KIT is a member of the type III receptor tyrosine kinase family, which is widely expressed in a variety of human malignancies. It is a potential target for imatinib because its constitutive activation, which is mostly caused by gene mutations, induces tumorigenesis, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) [1]. In this study, the first case of primary Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute...

We report a 38 year old male with metastatic seminoma in an inguinal lymph node and regression of the primary testis tumour with a past history of orchiopexy--an extremely rare occurrence.

OBJECTIVE To describe a case of retroperitoneal metastasis of a gonadal germ cell tumour with the "burned-out" phenomenon in a 35 year old patient with a suspected diagnosis of retroperitoneal tumour of neurogenic origin. METHODS With the clinical and radiological suspicion of retroperitoneal tumour of neurogenic origin the tumour was removed, via the retroperitoneal space. RESULTS Patholo...

Seminoma is a rare, malignant germ cell tumor (GCT) that usually develops in the third or fourth decade of life in males. Although the most common location for a malignant GCT is the gonads, it can also arise in extragonadal regions, such as the mediastinum. The authors describe a case of a 37-year-old caucasian man, with smoking habits, arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia, who was admitted ...

PURPOSE We retrospectively assessed the treatment results of patients with testicular non-seminoma to evaluate possible predictive and prognostic factors. METHODS 189 patients with testicular non-seminoma treated between 2000 and 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. Treatment was based on orchiectomy plus chemotherapy (bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin and vinblastine/ifosfamide/ cisplatin); retr...

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is known as an antiproliferative factor in the majority of mammalian cells, including stem germ cells. Lack of TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition has been associated with disruptions of TGF-beta receptors and SMADs. In the present study, we performed a mutational analysis of the TGF-beta signaling system, including TGF-beta receptor type I and type II and S...