Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of ifosfamide- and cisplatin-containing chemotherapy as first-line salvage treatment for patients with germ cell tumors (GCT).
Patients and methods: Fifty-six patients with advanced GCT resistant to one prior cisplatin-containing regimen were treated with a salvage chemotherapy regimen of ifosfamide, cisplatin, and either vinblastine or etoposide (VeIP/VIP).
Results: Twenty of 56 (36%) assessable patients achieved a complete response (CR). Thirteen (23%) are alive and continuously free of disease at a median follow-up time of 52 months; the median survival duration was 18 months. Among patients with a testis primary tumor site and a prior CR to first-line therapy, 65% are alive and 41% continuously disease-free, and the median survival time has not been reached. In contrast, for patients with an extragonadal primary tumor or with a testis primary tumor site and an incomplete response (IR) to first-line therapy, 31% are alive and 15% continuously free of disease, with a median survival time of 12 months (P < .03).
Conclusion: Ifosfamide- and cisplatin-containing therapy achieves a durable CR in a minority of patients with resistant GCT as first-line therapy. Patients with a primary testis site who relapsed from a CR to first-line cisplatin therapy have a better prognosis than patients with an extragonadal primary tumor site or an IR to first-line therapy. Risk-directed clinical trials to improve response and survival in both subsets are warranted.