Prechemotherapy Not Preorchiectomy Serum Tumor Markers Accurately Identify International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group Prognostic Groups in Nonseminoma

UNLABELLED: Levels of the serum tumor markers (STMs) α-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase are used in staging classification for metastatic germ-cell cancers and support decisions on the intensity of first-line treatment for patients with nonseminoma. Use of preorchiectomy instead of prechemotherapy STM levels can lead to inadequate classification. We identified 744 men with metastatic gonadal nonseminoma in the International Germ-Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) Update Consortium database who had preorchiectomy and prechemotherapy STM levels available. Of these, 22% would have had inadequate IGCCCG prognostic group classification if preorchiectomy levels had been used, which would have resulted in overtreatment of 16% and undertreatment of 6% of men. These findings suggest that use of preorchiectomy instead of prechemotherapy STM results may lead to incorrect IGCCCG classification, which could compromise treatment success or expose patients to unnecessary toxicity.

PATIENT SUMMARY: For men with testicular cancer, levels of tumor markers in their blood are used when making decisions on chemotherapy intensity. Use of test results for samples taken before removal of the cancer-bearing testicle instead of immediately before chemotherapy can lead to inadequate treatment recommendations.