Scientists have developed a new test to identify patients who are at risk of suffering a relapse from testicular cancer. Assessing just three features of a common kind of testicular cancer - called non-seminomatous germ cell tumor - can identify those at most at risk of relapse even where there is no evidence of tumor spread. The researchers believe the test could be used in the clinic to make decisions about which patients should be given chemotherapy.
Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, analyzed 177 tumor samples from patients with stage I non-seminomatous tumors enrolled in clinical trials through the Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Trials Unit. Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) found that three different features of the tumors were important indicators of relapse risk: the levels of a molecule called CXCL12, the percentage of the tumor…
