Summary
This study is looking at the best ways to treat germ cell tumours (GCTs) in children, teenagers and young adults. Researchers want to see when surgery alone is enough and when chemotherapy is needed - and which type of chemotherapy is safest and most effective.
Main goals of study
For people with low-risk tumours, the study wants to find out whether surgery alone, followed by close monitoring (called observation or active surveillance) keeps survival rates high.
For people with standard-risk tumours who do need chemotherapy, the study compares two treatments:
- Carboplatin-based chemotherapy
- Cisplatin-based chemotherapy (the current standard).
The goal is to see which treatment helps patients stay cancer-free logner, with fewer side effects.
Study details
Low-risk patients will have surgery to remove the tumour, and will then be closely monitored with scans and blood tests. If their cancer comes back, they may be transferred to the standard-risk arm to receive chemotherapy.
Standard-risk patients will be randomly assigned (by chance) to one of two treatment groups:
- Arm I will receive CEb (Carboplatin), consisting of bleomycin, carboplatin and etoposide for up to 4 cycles.
- Arm II will receive PEb (Cisplatin), consisting of bleomycin, cisplatin and etoposide for up to 4 cycles.
Standard Risk 2 (older patients or different tumour types) will have a similar chemotherapy as standard-risk patients, but treatment schedules differ slightly.