Oncological Follow-up Strategies for Testicular Germ Cell Tumours: A Narrative Review.

The aim of this review is to describe the proportion of testicular germ cell tumours (tGCTs) with recurrence, and the timing and anatomical sites of relapse across different disease stages and after different treatment options. We summarise published follow-up protocols and discuss current and future developments to personalise follow-up for patients with tGCT.

A systematic literature search was conducted and current guidelines and selected institutional follow-up protocols were reviewed.

Of 302 publications, we screened 68 full texts and included 29 studies; 22 of these were retrospective and seven were prospective in nature, contributing data for 20 570 patients. The number of patients included per study ranged from 119 to 2483. We compared the guideline follow-up protocols of the European Society for Medical Oncology, European Association of Urology, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and American Urological Association, as well as institutional follow-up protocols. The protocols differed in terms of the number, time points, and type of follow-up investigations.

Future research should assess how tGCT can be followed to ensure high adherence, define the role of miR-371a-3p microRNA during follow-up, and develop follow-up protocols after curative treatment in the metastatic setting.

In this review of follow-up protocols for men with testis cancer, we observed different recommendations and discuss future research areas to improve follow-up for these patients.

European urology open science. 2022 Sep 07*** epublish ***

Ernest Kaufmann, Luca Antonelli, Peter Albers, Clint Cary, Silke Gillessen Sommer, Axel Heidenreich, Christoph Oing, Jan Oldenburg, Phillip Martin Pierorazio, Andrew J Stephenson, Christian Daniel Fankhauser

University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland., Department of Urology, Luzerner Kantonssspital, Lucerne, Switzerland., Department of Urology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany., Department of Urology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA., Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland., Department of Urology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany., Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, Department of Cancer Services, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK., Department of Oncology, Akershus University Hospital and Medical Faculty of University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway., The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute and Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA., Department of Urology, Rush University Medical Group, Chicago, IL, USA.