(Press-News.org) LOS ANGELES — A newly published study paves the way for some patients with testicular cancer to avoid chemotherapy and radiation.
Seminoma is a slow-growing form of testicular cancer that if untreated, typically metastasizes (spreads) to lymph nodes in an area behind the abdomen lining called the retroperitoneum. The standard treatment for patients at this stage is chemotherapy and radiation to shrink and kill the cancerous lymph nodes.
While effective, chemotherapy and radiation are associated with long-term side effects, such as cardiovascular disease and secondary cancers, that adversely affect a patient’s quality of life.
Now, however, the results of a multi-institutional clinical trial recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology show that surgically removing the affected lymph nodes in the retroperitoneum is an effective alternative to chemotherapy and radiation with fewer long-term side effects.
“We found that the majority of participants in the study were cured with surgery alone, avoiding the toxicities associated with traditional therapies. We are confident that surgery for this disease state will be included into treatment guidelines in the near future,” said Sia Daneshmand, MD, a urologic oncologist with Keck Medicine of USC and lead investigator of the clinical trial.
Daneshmand is also a member of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine.
Testicular cancer is generally a treatable cancer that most commonly affects men ages 15-35. When testicular cancer only spreads to the retroperitoneum, it is classified as early metastatic or stage 2 seminoma.
The procedure to remove lymph nodes from the retroperitoneum — known as a retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy — is an established treatment for metastatic testicular cancer when chemotherapy fails to eradicate all affected lymph nodes. However, surgery has not traditionally been considered a viable stand-alone treatment for early metastatic seminoma.
The national study enrolled 55 patients across 12 institutions to investigate if surgery could replace chemotherapy and radiation as an effective treatment, thereby sparing patients the long-term risks associated with the two traditional therapies.
Study participants had previously undergone surgery to remove the testicle(s) where the original cancer occurred, and their cancer had progressed no further than to the retroperitoneum. Once enrolled, the patients underwent a retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy by certified surgeons at participating institutions around the country and one site in Canada.
Keck Hospital of USC performed 15 of the surgeries. Most of the Keck Medicine patients were able to go home 24 hours after surgery with minimal or no complications, according to Daneshmand.
Daneshmand and his colleagues found that 81% of the patients demonstrated a two-year recurrence-free survival rate. The 20% who did experience recurrence of the cancer were successfully treated with either chemotherapy or additional surgery for an overall survival rate of 100%.
“A 100% survival suggests that a cure can still be achieved even in patients who experience recurrence after the surgery,” said Daneshmand.
Daneshmand acknowledges that not all hospitals or medical centers have the expertise or resources to successfully complete retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. He advises patients to look for an academic medical center to discuss the possibility of surgery over traditional therapies.
“Early metastatic seminoma has a very high survival rate; however if treated with chemotherapy and radiation, the cure can come at a high cost,” he said. “Surgery gives patients both the opportunity to be cured and experience a high quality of life post-cancer.”
Anne Schuckman, MD, a urologic oncologist with Keck Medicine, was also an investigator in the clinical trial.
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For more information about Keck Medicine of USC, please visit news.KeckMedicine.org.
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Bratislava, Slovakia, March 21, 2023
BGI Genomics is pleased to announce the launch of COLOTECTTM 1.0 in Slovakia, in collaboration with its local partner, Zentya. Zentya is a Slovak-based healthcare solution provider that is passionate about providing patients with the latest technology in the field of genetic screening, aiming to help identify and facilitate timely treatments of genetic diseases.
COLOTECTTM 1.0 is one of the first-ever fecal DNA tests for colorectal cancer that is available in the country. It is a non-invasive fecal DNA test developed by BGI Genomics for detecting ...
PULLMAN, Wash. — Facebook users were more likely to read fake news about the 2020 U.S. presidential election than users of Twitter and other social media websites, a Washington State University-led analysis found.
The study in Government Information Quarterly indicates that fake news consumption and political alignment were the primary forces driving doubt about the integrity of the vote counting process – and surprisingly not the method used to cast votes. The researchers also found that individuals who got ...
Oak Brook, IL – The March special issue of SLAS Discovery deviates from its traditional focus on assay technology, disease area or molecular target to introduce and explore protocol articles – the newly accepted article type for outlining detailed scientific methods and procedures. The six protocol articles featured in this month’s collection cover a range of topics such as 3D imaging, cancer treatments and methods of high-throughput screening.
By publishing protocols, SLAS underscores the importance of transparency and rigor ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Once adults reach age 65, the threshold age for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, the extent of their genetic risk may outweigh age as a predictor of whether they will develop the fatal brain disorder, a new study suggests.
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Biyu J. He receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for her leadership in the field of cognitive neuroscience, and for her groundbreaking discoveries on the biological bases of perceptual cognition and subjective experience.
The Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise is a $50,000 prize awarded annually by the Vilcek Foundation as part of its prizes program. Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes recognize and celebrate immigrant contributions to scientific research and ...
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a prestigious Advanced Grant of EUR 2.5 million ($2.6 million) over 5 years to Professor Bernt-Erik Sæther at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Biology.
The money will go to find out how we can save species that are in danger of becoming extinct.
“The aim is to develop rules of thumb to identify what is needed to prevent a species from dying out in an area in the short term. At the same time, we must ensure that a population’s ability to adapt to ...
Statement Highlights:
Primary hypertension—high blood pressure that is not due to an underlying medical condition—occurs in up to 5% of children and adolescents in the U.S. and other countries.
Having high blood pressure as a child often leads to high blood pressure in adulthood, which may increase the likelihood of heart disease and stroke, as well as cause damage to the kidneys, eyes and more.
Some risk factors that increase the chances for high blood pressure in children are modifiable, while others are not.
Regular and appropriate assessment of blood pressure levels in children is important, as there are often no symptoms of high blood pressure.
Public health initiatives ...
ROME, ITALY - Cacao of Excellence is proud to unveil its new state-of-the-art cacao R&D laboratory and training centre. Located at Via Baccio Baldini 4 in Rome, the facility will be dedicated to exploring the depths of cacao quality and sensory analysis and revealing the diversity of cacao flavour profiles.
The laboratory and training centre will accommodate the processing and evaluation of cacao samples received from over 55 participating origins for the global Cacao of Excellence Awards, and will serve as a cacao quality processing and sensory training centre for cacao-producing origins.
Cacao of Excellence’s ...
Osaka, Japan― Tearing their meniscus—a crescent-shaped piece of a soft cushion of cartilage located between the femur and tibia—can be devastating for young athletes. It is easily damaged in people with congenital lateral discoid meniscus or those that are physically active and once damaged, the meniscus cannot repair itself. The most common method has been to remove the damaged portion of the meniscus, but in recent years meniscus-sparing surgeries, that suture the margins of the meniscus at the tear, ...
30 March 2023 - EMBO Press has chosen Springer Nature to be their new publishing partner from 1 January 2024. Authors who publish in EMBO Press journals will benefit from the global reach of Springer Nature’s leading journals. In addition, authors will have the option to transfer manuscripts between journals in the EMBO Press and Springer Nature portfolios.
This announcement follows EMBO Press’ recent decision that to advance global discoverability, transparency and availability of published research outcomes all ...
