M H Cullen

Medical Research Council prospective study of surveillance for stage I testicular teratoma. Medical Research Council Testicular Tumors Working Party.

PURPOSE A prospective study of surveillance after orchidectomy alone in patients with stage I nonseminomatous germ cell testicular tumor (NSGCT) was performed to determine the relapse-free rate and to identify the histologic criteria that predict for relapse. PATIENTS AND METHODS Three hundred ninety-six patients from 16 United Kingdom and one Norwegian centers were entered onto the study between January 1, 1984 and October 1, 1987 of whom 373 were eligible for analysis. In a previous retrospective study, we defined a prognostic index based on histologic criteria that identified a group of patients with a high risk of relapse. This index was based on the presence of venous and lymphatic invasion, undifferentiated cells, and the absence of yolk sac elements in the primary tumor. RESULTS The 2-year actuarial relapse-free rate after orchidectomy was 75% (95% confidence interval, 71% to 79%), and the rate at 5 years was 73%. Five patients died of tumor or treatment-related complications, which resulted in a 5-year survival of 98%. The relapse-free rate in patients with three or four risk factors was 54%. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the safety of surveillance as a method of management and identifies a group of patients with a high risk of relapse. A prospective phase II study has been initiated to determine whether two courses of platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy will prevent relapse in these high-risk patients.

Short-course adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis: a Medical Research Council report.

PURPOSE This United Kingdom Medical Research Council (UK-MRC) study prospectively evaluated efficacy and long-term toxicity of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis (NSGCTT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Eligible patients were those identified by the local histopathologist as having features confirmed in MRC surveillance studies to indicate an approximate 50% risk of relapse. Central histopathology review was undertaken. Chemotherapy consisted of two courses of cisplatin 100 mg/m2, bleomycin 30 mg weekly x 3, and etoposide 120 mg/m2 x 3, every 21 days (BEP). RESULTS One hundred fourteen eligible cases were enrolled. Median time of follow-up was 4 years, with 93 patients followed-up for at least 2 years. There have been two relapses, including one patient who did not have a germ cell tumor (GCT), according to the reference histopathologist. This patient is alive with active disease, the other has died. There was one death after a cerebrovascular accident during treatment. Assessment of fertility, lung function, and audiometry pretreatment and more than 9 months posttreatment indicated no clinically significant changes. A mean decrease in transfer factor coefficient (KCO) of 15% of the predicted value was noted, but no patient had symptomatic respiratory dysfunction. CONCLUSION There have been only two relapses among 114 cases of high-risk stage I NSGCTT treated with two courses of adjuvant BEP chemotherapy. The 95% confidence interval (CI) excludes a true relapse rate of more than 5%. Of 104 patients confirmed on histopathology review to have GCT, there has been only one relapse. Adjuvant chemotherapy is free from significant long-term toxicity, offering an effective alternative to surveillance or retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) followed by surveillance, and may be preferred by some patients.

Intensive induction-sequential chemotherapy with BOP/VIP-B compared with treatment with BEP/EP for poor-prognosis metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumor: a Randomized Medical Research Council/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer study

PURPOSE The aim of this randomized trial was to assess the potential therapeutic advantage of an intensive induction-sequential chemotherapy schedule (bleomycin, vincristine, cisplatin [BOP])/etoposide, ifosfamide, cisplatin, and bleomycin [VIP-B]), compared with a regimen based on bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) (BEP/etoposide and cisplatin [EP]) for the treatment of patients with poor-prognosis metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients had one or more of the following: a retroperitoneal mass > or = 10 cm in diameter; mediastinal or supraclavicular mass > or = 5 cm in diameter; at least 20 lung metastases (any size); liver, bone, or brain metastases; and serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin (betaHCG) > or = 10,000 IU/L or alfa fetoprotein (AFP) > or = 1,000 IU/L. A total of 380 patients were accrued between May 1990 and June 1994 into this joint Medical Research Council (MRC)/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial; of these, nine patients were deemed ineligible. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the two arms in the proportion of patients who achieved a complete response (CR) with chemotherapy alone, ie, 79 of 185 assessable patients (57%) with BEP/EP and 72 of 186 (54%) with BOP/VIP-B (P = 0.687). With a median follow-up of 3.1 years (maximum, 5.8), a total of 107 patients (28%) had progressive disease. There was no significant difference in time to first disease progression, or failure-free or overall survival between the two arms (P = 0.21, 0.101, and 0.190, respectively). The 1-year failure-free survival rates for BEP/EP and BOP/VIP-B were 60% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53% to 67%) and 53% (95% CI, 47% to 61%). Grade 3 or 4 myelosuppression, febrile neutropenia, and weight loss were more pronounced with BOP/VIP-B than with BEP/EP, and there were more toxic deaths with BOP/VIP-B than BEP/EP (18 [9%] v nine [5%]). CONCLUSION The intensive BOP/VIP-B therapy was associated with more toxicity, but there was no evidence of an improvement in response rate or survival compared with treatment with BEP/EP.

Prognostic factors in patients progressing after cisplatin based chemotherapy for malignant non-seminomatous germ cell tumours

SummaryThe aim of this study was to define prognostic parameters for survival in patients with malignant germ cell tumours progressing after platinum-based induction chemotherapy with or without surgery. A total of 164 progressing patients (testicular: 83%, extragonadal: 17%) were identified out of 795 patients treated with platinum-based induction chemotherapy for metastatic germ cell malignancy with or without surgery. ‘Progressive disease’ included patients who had progressed after a previous partial or complete remission as well as patients who failed primary therapy. Salvage chemotherapy consisted of ‘conventional’ platinum-based chemotherapy. Prognostic factors for survival were assessed by uni- and multivariate analyses. The resulting prognostic model was validated in an independent data set of 66 similar patients. For all 164 patients the median time from start of induction chemotherapy to progression was 10 months (range: 0–99). Thirty-eight (23%) patients relapsed after 2 years. The 5-year survival rate for all progressing patients was 30% (95% confidence interval 23–38%). In the univariate analysis the following factors most importantly predicted a poor prognosis: progression-free interval < 2 years: initial poor prognosis category (MRC criteria), < CR to induction chemotherapy, initial treatment early in the 1980s and treatment given at a ‘small’ centre. Three prognostic factors remained in the multivariate analysis: progression-free interval, response to induction treatment and the level of serum human chronic gonadotrophin (hCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) at relapse. One hundred and twenty-four patients could be classified on the basis of these characteristics, Those patients with progression-free interval < 2 years, < CR to induction chemotherapy and high markers at relapse (AFP >100 kU l–1 or hCG >100 IU l–1) formed a poor prognosis group of 30 patients, none of whom survived after 3 years. Patients with at most two of these three risk factors formed a good prognosis group of 94 patients (76%) with a 47% (37–56%) 5-year survival. Thirty-eight patients from the good prognosis group with a progression-free interval of >2 years had a 2-year survival of 74% (60–88%) and 5-year survival of 61%. These prognostic groups were validated in the independent data set, in which 5-year survival rates in the good and poor risk groups were 51% and 0% respectively. One-third of patients progressing during or after platinum-based induction chemotherapy for metastatic germ cell malignancy may be cured by repeated ‘conventional’ platinum-based chemotherapy. Good prognosis parameters are: progression-free interval of > 2 years, CR to induction treatment and normal or low serum markers at relapse (hCG < 100 IU l–1 and AFP < 100 kU l–1). The results of high-dose salvage chemotherapy should be interpreted on the background of these prognostic factors.

P-glycoprotein possesses A 1,4-dihydropyridine-selective drug acceptor site which is alloserically coupled to a vinca-alkaloid-selective binding site

[3H]Vinblastine bound with high affinity to surface membranes prepared from H69/LX4 cells which express P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and as a consequence are multidrug resistant (MDR). The KD was 9.8 +/- 1.5 nM and density of sites 31.2 +/- 8.6 pmol/mg of protein. [3H]Vinblastine binding was inhibited by cytotoxics and agents known to reverse MDR. 1,4-Dihydropyridine MDR reversing agents including nicardipine and nifedipine accelerated the dissociation of [3H]vinblastine from P-gp indicating a negative heterotropic allosteric effect. Cyclosporin A, vincristine and actinomycin D did not alter [3H]vinblastine dissociation kinetics. It is concluded that P-gp possesses at least two allosterically coupled drug acceptor sites, receptor site-1 that is selective for vinca alkaloids and cyclosporin A, and receptor site-2 that is selective for 1,4-dihydropyridines.

A Medical Research Council randomized trial of single agent carboplatin versus etoposide and cisplatin for advanced metastatic seminoma

The UK Medical Research Council conducted this trial of carboplatin chemotherapy in advanced seminoma to compare single agent carboplatin with a standard combination of etoposide with cisplatin. The use of single agent carboplatin was expected to be associated with reduced toxicity. A total of 130 patients with advanced seminoma were randomly assigned to treatment with either single agent carboplatin (C) at a dose of 400 mg/m2 to be corrected for glomerular filtration rate outside the range 81–120 ml min–1 and to be administered on day 1 of a 21 day cycle to a total of 4 cycles or to etoposide + platinum (EP). The trial was designed as an equivalence study aiming to exclude a reduction in the 3-year progression-free survival in patients allocated to carboplatin of between 10 and 15%, requiring initially a target accrual of 250 patients (90% power significance level 5% (one-sided)). The trial closed after 130 patients had been randomized following recommendation by an independent data monitoring committee. At a median follow-up time of 4.5 years, 81% of patients had been followed up for at least 3 years and 19 patients have died. The estimated PFS rate (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)) at 3 years was 71% (60–82%) in patients allocated C and 81% (71–90%) in those allocated EP; the 95% CI for the difference in 3 year PFS was –6% to +19%. The hazard ratio of 0.64 (95% CI 0.32–1.28) favoured EP but the difference was not statistically significant (log rank chi-squared = 1.59 P = 0.21). The 3-year survival rate was 84% (75–92%) in those allocated C, and 89% (81–96%) in those allocated EP. The hazard ratio for survival was 0.85 with 95% CI, 0.35–2.10, log rank chi-squared = 0.12, P = 0.73. The trial has not demonstrated statistically significant differences in the major survival endpoints comparing single agent carboplatin with a combination of etoposide + cisplatin. This cannot be taken as an indication of equivalence since the limited size of this trial rendered it unable to exclude a 19% lower progression-free survival and survival in those treated with single agent carboplatin which would be important clinically. Standard initial chemotherapy for advanced seminoma should be based on cisplatin combinations and the role of carboplatin awaits the outcome of further studies.

A phase II trial of TIP (paclitaxel, ifosfamide and cisplatin) given as second-line (post-BEP) salvage chemotherapy for patients with metastatic germ cell cancer: a medical research council trial

This phase II trial describes the use of TIP chemotherapy (paclitaxel, ifosfamide and cisplatin) as salvage for patients with metastatic germ cell cancer (GCC) who have failed initial BEP (bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin) chemotherapy. Patients with first relapse following BEP for metastatic GCC, confirmed by biopsy or sequentially rising markers, received four courses of TIP (paclitaxel 175 mg m−2 day 1, followed on days 1–5 by ifosfamide 1 g m−2 intravenously (i.v.) and cisplatin 20 mg2 i.v.) at 3-weekly intervals. The primary outcome measure was response to TIP. In all, 51 patients were registered, of whom 43 were eligible for response assessment. Eight achieved complete remission (CR) and 18 a partial remission with negative markers (PR−ve); favourable response rate (FRR=CR+PR−ve) 60%, 95% CI (44–75%); survival at 1 year was 70% (56–84%) and failure-free survival 36% (22–50%). In the group of 26 patients meeting the ‘good-risk’ criteria described by the Memorial Hospital, the FRR was 73% (52–88%) compared with 41% (18–67%) for the 17 ‘poor-risk’ patients. These results are inferior to those previously reported for TIP in a single-centre study when it was given more intensively, at higher dose and with growth factor support. Nonetheless, TIP as described here can cure a substantial proportion of patients.

Prognostic factors for patients with advanced seminoma treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Prognostic factors for 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) were defined in 286 patients with advanced seminoma treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy at 10 European oncology units (no prior treatment: 236; prior radiotherapy: 50). Previously irradiated patients displayed a 69% PFS as compared to 87% in those presenting with advanced seminoma at the time of diagnosis (P = 0.009). In the univariate analysis, the extent and site of disease before chemotherapy and the level of serum LDH (< 2.0 versus > or = 2.0 x upper limit of normal) correlated with PFS in previously non-irradiated patients, but not in patients with prior radiotherapy. The multivariate analysis was, therefore, restricted to previously non-irradiated patients. The presence of non-pulmonary visceral metastases and a serum LDH level of > or = 2 x normal (N) proved to be independent prognostic factors. Based on these variables, two prognostic models were constructed and validated in an external data set of 166 comparable patients. For clinical use, Model 2 is recommended. The good-prognosis group comprises non-irradiated patients with stage II seminoma and any LDH level at presentation, or stage III and IV patients (with lung metastases only) whose serum LDH level is < 2 x N. These patients display a 94% 3-year PFS. The poor prognosis group includes all other patients with a 56% PFS. With this prognostic model, individualisation of the therapeutic approach may be considered in patients with advanced seminoma and a high risk of chemotherapy-related toxicity.

Initial dose intensity has limited impact on the outcome of ABVD chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma (HL): data from UKLG LY09 (ISRCTN97144519)

BACKGROUND This analysis was undertaken to assess the relationship between the dose intensity (DI) of initial chemotherapy and outcome in a large cohort of patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma treated in a randomised controlled trial, in which detailed dose data were collected prospectively. PATIENTS AND METHODS Three-hundred and eighty patients randomly assigned to receive standard doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine who underwent at least two cycles of treatment were studied. With a median follow-up of 6.9 years, progression-free survival (PFS) from the end of cycle 2 was analysed according to DI during those cycles. RESULTS During the first two cycles, 25% of patients received >97% of planned DI, 37% received between 86% and 97% and 38% received <86%. DI during the first two cycles was correlated with DI during the remainder of the course, but there was no evidence that early DI influenced PFS (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.67-1.11; P = 0.265). Multivariate analysis also failed to confirm the influence of early DI on PFS or overall survival. CONCLUSIONS At the range of DI delivered in a multicentre trial using conventional therapy, there is no clear evidence that early DI influences outcome. This should be tested in a prospective study.

Primum non nocere: do we harm stage I testicular cancer patients less by applying adjuvant chemotherapy than by failing to present this option?

Testicular cancer (TC) is the most common neoplasm in males aged between 15 and 40 years and the majority of patients are diagnosed without evidence of metastatic disease, i.e. clinical stage I (CSI) [1, 2, 3]. Adjuvant chemotherapy in form of one or two cycles of BEP reduces the risk of relapse by ∼90%. However, the majority of patients with metastatic nonseminoma are within the good-prognosis group according to the International Germ Cell Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) and are cured by three cycles of BEP. In light of tumor burden, two cycles of BEP might represent overtreatment of patients with only micrometastases and many experts prefer to recommend one cycle of BEP when adjuvant chemotherapy is to be given. The controversy surrounding adjuvant BEP chemotherapy in stage I testicular cancer rests more on fear of as yet unknown late toxicity than on concerns about efficacy and known immediate toxicities. Ethically, any risk of harm without a certain benefit is particularly problematic as is always the case in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy when the existence of micrometastases is uncertain in any individual patient [4]. Therefore, the article by Vidal et al. ‘Long term outcome of patients with clinical stage I high-risk nonseminomatous germ cell tumors 15 years after one adjuvant cycle of Bleomycin, Etoposide and Cisplatin chemotherapy’ is a timely report [5]. This principle of nonmaleficence is part of the Hippocratic Corpus and ‘Primum non nocere’ represents unethical backbone, meaning, ‘first, do no harm.’ More broadly, this bioethical precepts suggests: ‘given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good’ [6].