Germ Cell Tumors in Adolescents and Young Adults.

Germ cell tumors (GCTs) represent a group of biologically complex malignancies that affect patients at different sites within the body and at different ages. The varying nature of these tumors reflects their cell of origin which is the primordial germ cell, which normally gives rise to ovarian and testicular egg and sperm producing cells. These cells retain an ability to give rise to all types of human tissues, and this is illustrated by the different kinds of GCTs that occur.

Treatment and survival patterns for germ cell tumors among 13- to 24-year olds in Yorkshire, UK.

Background: Teenage and young adult (TYA) patient care can fall into gaps between adult and children's services. Increasingly UK TYA multi-disciplinary teams manage germ cell tumors (GCT) in locally agreed collaborations and age ranges. Patterns of care are changing rapidly.

Randomized trial of two or five computed tomography scans in the surveillance of patients with stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis: Medical Research Council Trial TE08, ISRCTN56475197--the National Cancer Research Institute Testis Cancer Clinical Studies Group.

Purpose: Surveillance is a standard management approach for stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT). A randomized trial of two versus five computed tomography (CT) scans was performed to determine whether the number of scans influenced the proportion of patients relapsing with intermediate- or poor-prognosis disease at relapse.

Methods: Patients with clinical stage I NSGCT opting for surveillance were randomly assigned to chest and abdominal CT scans at either 3 and 12 or 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months, with all other investigations identical in the two arms.