Patients who undergo primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (pRPLND) for early-stage testicular cancer and have no cancer (pN0) found in the retroperitoneum are believed to have an excellent prognosis. However, some experience relapse, potentially due to limitations of current staging methods. We aim to describe long-term outcomes and relapse patterns among a contemporary cohort of patients found to be pN0 at pRPLND to identify opportunities for improved diagnostic approaches and optimal patient selection.
We reviewed our prospectively maintained database for patients who underwent pRPLND for nonseminomatous germ cell tumors at our tertiary cancer center during the period from January 1, 2000, through September 30, 2023 (n = 628). We excluded 282 patients with node-positive pathology for a final analytic cohort of 346 patients. Our primary outcome was recurrence-free survival (RFS). Secondary outcomes included timing and location of recurrence.
Of 346 included patients with pN0 pathology, 23 experienced relapse with a 2-year RFS rate of 93% (95% confidence interval: 90, 96). Most recurrences (70%) occurred in the lungs and within 6 months of pRPLND. Serum tumor markers were positive in 43% of patients at the time of relapse. All patients who relapsed were treated with salvage chemotherapy; 6 patients required additional surgical procedures. There was no testis cancer-related deaths.
Two-year RFS for patients with pN0 pRPLND pathology is excellent. All recurrences were outside of the retroperitoneum, suggesting subclinical distant metastases at time of surgery and the benefits of a bilateral template dissection. Improved diagnostics may help better identify patients with disease within or outside of the retroperitoneum prior to pRPLND, helping guide treatment decisions.
Clinical genitourinary cancer. 2024 Sep 03 [Epub ahead of print]
Fady Baky, Nicole Liso, Brandon Williams, Andrea Knezevic, Samuel A Funt, Darren R Feldman, Brett Carver, Joel Sheinfeld, Richard S Matulewicz
Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Urology Service, New York, NY., Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY., Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Genitourinary Oncology Service, New York, NY; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY., Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Urology Service, New York, NY; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY. Electronic address: .