Age as a Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Metastatic Testicular Germ Cell Tumors.

To quantify the prognostic impact of age on relapse and mortality in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).

Electronical medical records of 1,225 TGCT patients who were treated at a single academic center between 1994 and 2015 were reviewed.

Higher age did not predict for worse progression-free survival (PFS) or for higher progression risk. The corresponding 5-year PFS estimates were 85% in patients younger than 40 years and 83% in the elderly population. Although not statistically significant, higher age was numerically associated with worse overall survival (OS) (univariate HR per five years increase in age=1.18, 95%CI=0.99-1.41). This was explained in regression analysis where age predicted for significantly higher risk of treatment-related death (p=0.022).

Elderly patients with metastatic TGCT can achieve high cure rates similar to younger patients if they tolerate risk-adapted chemotherapy.

Anticancer research. 2019 Oct [Epub]

Angelika Terbuch, Florian Posch, Thomas Bauernhofer, Martin Pichler, Heidi Peinsith, Joanna Szkandera, Jakob Riedl, Georg C Hutterer, Karl Pummer, Richard Partl, Karin S Kapp, Herbert Stöger, Michael Stotz, Armin Gerger

Division of Clinical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria., Comprehensive Cancer Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria., Division of Clinical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria .