Testicular germ cell tumors represent the most common malignancy among young men.
While 5-year overall survival and cure for this population is greater than 95 %, choriocarcinoma is an aggressive subtype of this disease with far worse prognosis-5-year survival for choriocarcinoma is less than 80 %. In order to be able to treat these patients appropriately, a provider must recognize characteristic features of choriocarcinoma including elevated human chorionic gonadotropin in a young man with testicular mass; the astute clinician should also know the signs and symptoms of choriocarcinoma syndrome, characterized by bleeding from metastatic sites, which represents a medical emergency and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Treatment should be directed towards a goal of tumor marker normalization, and patients with refractory disease should be considered for advanced therapies and clinical trials. Choriocarcinoma is a unique and aggressive germ cell malignancy, and these patients require early aggressive treatment to improve their chance of survival.
Written by:
Reilley MJ, Pagliaro LC. Are you the author?
Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1155 Pressler St., Unit 1374, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Reference: Curr Oncol Rep. 2015 Feb;17(2):430.
doi: 10.1007/s11912-014-0430-0
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25645112