Purpose: To assess response, overall survival, and relapse-free survival of patients with good-risk metastatic germ cell tumor (GCT) by International Germ Cell Consensus Classification Group (IGCCCG) criteria treated with four cycles of etoposide and cisplatin (EP).
Patients and methods: Two hundred eighty-nine patients with IGCCCG good-risk GCT were treated with four cycles of EP. EP consisted of four cycles of etoposide 100 mg/m2 and cisplatin 20 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5 every 21 days.
Results: Two hundred eighty-two of 289 patients (98%) achieved a complete response; 269 (93%) responded to chemotherapy alone and 13 (5%) responded to chemotherapy plus surgical resection of viable disease (GCT other than mature teratoma). Seventeen (6%) experienced relapse, and nine (3%) died as a result of disease at a median follow-up of 7.7 years (range, 0.4 to 21.1 years). Sixty-two of 204 patients (30%) with nonseminoma had findings of teratoma or viable GCT at postchemotherapy surgery.
Conclusion: Four cycles of EP is a highly effective therapy for patients with good-risk GCT, with a high cure rate, low relapse rate, and little evidence of late relapse. Postchemotherapy surgery resection of residual disease remains an important aspect of treatment for these patients. Four cycles of EP is acceptable as a standard regimen for the treatment of good-risk metastatic GCT, and serves as an alternative to three cycles of bleomycin and etoposide before cisplatin.