Prognostic factors in advanced seminoma in the era of etoposide- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy: Importance of pretreatment LDH-level.

e16038 Background: The commonly used IGCCCG classification probably underestimates other prognostic factors (tumor markers, stage) for advanced seminoma, which was shown later (Fossa S., 1997). Furthermore, in contrast to nonseminoma different cisplatin-based regimens have not been directly compared in this population. We performed an analysis to review the outcome and prognostic factors of patients (pts) with advanced seminoma treated in our center during the last two decades.

METHODS: From 1983 to 2005, 250 chemotherapy (CT)-naïve pts with advanced seminoma received induction platinum-based CT, which was divided as an "older" (76 pts) and "modern" (174 pts) one. "Older CT" included cyclophosphamide + cisplatin (46 pts), ifosfamide + carboplatin (12 pts), PVB (8 pts) and other regimens (10 pts). "Modern CT" contained BEP (26 pts) and EP (148 pts) regimens. 227 (91%) pts had primary testicular tumor, 241 (96%) pts belonged to IGCCCG good prognostic group. Median follow-up was 57 (range, 3-276) months for the pts who survived. Prognostic factors were analyzed in "modern CT" group. Progression-free survival (PFS) was an end-point for Cox' stepwise regression analysis.

RESULTS: "Modern CT" significantly improved PFS (5-years, 91% and 74%, p = 0.002) but not OS (5-years, 92% and 89%, p = 0.28), which could be explained by effective salvage CT. Univariate analysis revealed following factors as significant: number of metastatic sites, presence of pulmonary metastases, RPLN size, hCG level, and LDH level. Cox' regression analysis showed pre-CT LDH as the only prognostic factor for PFS (HR 7,6, 95% CI 1,6-36.3). Using cut-off 2 x upper limit of normal for LDH level, "modern CT" group can be divided into favorable (105 [60%] pts) and unfavorable (69 (40%) pts) groups with 5-years DFS 98% vs. 78% (HR 11.1, 95% CI 3.2-33.3) and 5-years OS 99% vs. 80% (HR 11.07, 95% CI 3.09-27.92), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Comparing with older cisplatin-based regimens, the new ones (BEP or EP) improved PFS without significant influence on OS in pts with advanced seminoma. Pre-treatment LDH level is an important independent prognostic factor, which could help stratify pts better into risk groups. Further studies with risk-adapted policy in advanced seminoma are warranted. No significant financial relationships to disclose.