Between July 1979 and May 1982, we treated 45 male patients with refractory germinal neoplasms. All patients had previously received intensive cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy regimens. Patients received salvage chemotherapy with VP-16 and cisplatin +/- bleomycin +/- doxorubicin. Of 44 evaluable patients, 19 (43%) achieved complete remissions with salvage chemotherapy, 12 (27%) had partial remissions, and nine (21%) had no response. Four patients (9%) were not evaluable for response due to early death or noncompliance but are considered treatment failures. Ten patients (23%) remain alive and continuously disease free 20 to 39 months (median, 29 months) after completion of therapy. Hematologic toxicity was severe, with one death related to sepsis. Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis occurred in 17 patients with two fatalities. The addition of bleomycin and/or doxorubicin to this regimen increases toxicity and probably does not improve treatment results. Salvage chemotherapy with VP-16 and cisplatin offers potentially curative therapy to men with resistant germinal tumors.