The Value of Serum Tumor Markers in the Staging and Prognosis of Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis

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No AccessJournal of Urology1 Dec 1977The Value of Serum Tumor Markers in the Staging and Prognosis of Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis Peter T. Scardino, H. David Cox, Thomas A. Waldmann, K. Robert Mcintire, Bernhard Mittemeyer, and Nasser Javadpour Peter T. ScardinoPeter T. Scardino More articles by this author , H. David CoxH. David Cox More articles by this author , Thomas A. WaldmannThomas A. Waldmann More articles by this author , K. Robert McintireK. Robert Mcintire More articles by this author , Bernhard MittemeyerBernhard Mittemeyer More articles by this author , and Nasser JavadpourNasser Javadpour More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5347(17)58275-0AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail During a 3-year prospective study serum chorionic gonadotropin, alpha-fetoprotein and plasma carcinoembryonic antigen were measured in 111 patients with germ cell tumors of the testis. Either human chorionic gonadotropin or alpha-fetoprotein levels were elevated in 91 per cent of the patients with clinically demonstrable non-seminomatous tumors. Among 24 patients who had recurrent disease 16 (67 per cent) had elevated alpha-fetoprotein or human chorionic gonadotropin at a time when recurrence was clinically undetectable. All patients free of tumor had normal levels of human chorionic gonadotropin or alpha-fetoprotein, there being no falsely positive values. Carcinoembryonic antigen was elevated in 33 per cent of patients with seminoma and in 7 per cent of patients with non-seminomatous tumor but carcinoembyonic antigen levels did not correlate with the course of the disease. Determinations of human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha-fetoprotein before lymphadenectomy decreased the error in clinical staging from 35 to 14 per cent. Distant metastases developed in 67 per cent (8 of 12) of patients with stages I and II non-seminomatous tumor with elevated levels of human chorionic gonadotropin or alpha-fetoprotein prior to lymphadenectomy but in only 4 per cent (1 of 25) of patients when the human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha-fetoprotein prior to lymphadenectomy were normal. The levels of human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha-fetoprotein but not carcinoembryonic antigen indicated the true pathologic stage and the prognosis of these patients more accurately than did the conventional clinical parameters. © 1977 by The American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByYamada K, Fujioka Y, Ebihara Y, Kiriyama I, Suzuki H and Akimoto M (2018) α-Fetoprotein Producing Undifferentiated Carcinoma of the BladderJournal of Urology, VOL. 152, NO. 3, (958-960), Online publication date: 1-Sep-1994.Davis B, Herr H, Fair W and Bosl G (2018) The Management of Patients with Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis with Serologic Disease Only After OrchiectomyJournal of Urology, VOL. 152, NO. 1, (111-113), Online publication date: 1-Jul-1994.Harada K, Morishita S, Itani A, Nagata H, Hamami G, Ishii M, Kamidono S and Ishigami J (2018) Clinical Evaluation of Basic Fetoprotein in Testicular CancerJournal of Urology, VOL. 138, NO. 5, (1178-1180), Online publication date: 1-Nov-1987.Lo R and Johnson D (2018) A Graphical Method to Analyze Serum Tumor Marker Decay in Nonseminomatous Testis TumorsJournal of Urology, VOL. 131, NO. 5, (896-897), Online publication date: 1-May-1984.Pritchett T and Skinner D (2018) Embryonal Carcinoma with Falsely Positive Elevation of Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein after Curative Therapy: A Case ReportJournal of Urology, VOL. 131, NO. 5, (970-971), Online publication date: 1-May-1984.Einhorn L (2018) Editorial CommentsJournal of Urology, VOL. 131, NO. 5, (971-971), Online publication date: 1-May-1984.Javadpour N (2018) Editorial CommentsJournal of Urology, VOL. 131, NO. 5, (971-971), Online publication date: 1-May-1984.Bracken R, Johnson D, Frazier O, Logothetis C, Trindade A and Samuels M (2018) The Role of Surgery Following Chemotherapy in Stage III Germ Cell NeoplasmsJournal of Urology, VOL. 129, NO. 1, (39-43), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1983.Clements J, Mcleod D, Weisbaum G and Stutzman R (2018) Radiation Therapy for Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis: a ReappraisalJournal of Urology, VOL. 126, NO. 4, (490-492), Online publication date: 1-Oct-1981.Maier J (2018) Editorial CommentJournal of Urology, VOL. 126, NO. 4, (492-492), Online publication date: 1-Oct-1981. 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(2018) Editorial CommentJournal of Urology, VOL. 120, NO. 6, (690-690), Online publication date: 1-Dec-1978. (2018) Reply by authorsJournal of Urology, VOL. 119, NO. 3, (422-423), Online publication date: 1-Mar-1978.Javadpour N, Mcintire K, Waldmann T, Scardino P, Bergman S and Anderson T (2018) The Role of the Radioimmunoassay of Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the Intensive Chemotherapy and Surgery of Metastatic Testicular TumorsJournal of Urology, VOL. 119, NO. 6, (759-762), Online publication date: 1-Jun-1978. Volume 118Issue 6December 1977Page: 994-999 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 1977 by The American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Peter T. Scardino More articles by this author H. David Cox More articles by this author Thomas A. Waldmann More articles by this author K. Robert Mcintire More articles by this author Bernhard Mittemeyer More articles by this author Nasser Javadpour More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...