Purpose: Reported treatment outcomes for patients with advanced germ cell tumors (aGCT) are based mainly on series from developed nations. Data from low- and middle-income countries are underrepresented.
Material and methods: From 2000 to 2015, a retrospective analysis identified 300 patients with aGCT treated at our institution. Kaplan-Meier methods were used for analysis of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) according to the International Germ Cell Consensus Classification Group (IGCCCG).
Results: Patients' median age was 28 years. According to the IGCCCG, 57% had good-, 18.3% intermediate-, and 24.7% poor-risk disease. Median α-fetoprotein levels were 2.9, 243, and 3,998 ng/mL, and those of human chorionic gonadotropin were 0.4, 113, and 301.5 mUI/mL in IGCCCG good-, intermediate-, and poor-risk groups, respectively. At a median 46 months of follow-up, 93 PFS events and 45 deaths had occurred and estimated 5-year PFS and OS were 69% and 85%, respectively, including 83% and 95.3% in good-risk, 70.9% and 83.6% in intermediate-risk, and 35.1% and 62.2% in poor-risk patients, respectively. In multivariable analysis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 2 was a significant independent prognostic factor with a hazard ratio of 2.58 (95% CI, 1.55 to 4.29; P < .001) and 6.20 (95% CI, 2.97 to 12.92; P < .001) for PFS and OS, respectively.
Conclusion: Brazilian patients with aGCT in this cohort had similar outcomes as patients in the IGCCCG database. In comparison with contemporary series, patients with intermediate- and poor-risk aGCT had slightly inferior PFS and OS, possibly due to a high percentage of patients with poor performance status and less use of high-dose chemotherapy.