Cis-platinum in the treatment of metastasized testicular non-seminomas

Cis-platinum diamminodichloride (cis-platinum) is a new cytostatic agent, highly active in the treatment of patients with metastasized testicular non-seminomas. So far, the best results have been achieved with the combination of cis-platinum, vinblastine and bleomycin, viz. a remission rate of 100%, of which approx. 75% were complete remissions. In this paper, the cases of 6 patients with disseminated testicular non-seminomas are reported. One patient, only seen in the terminal stage, died shortly after the beginning of the treatment. In the other 5 patients, complete remissions were obtained for periods ranging from 3 to 15 months. All patients remained free of disease so far. The principal side effects of this cytostatic combination are nephrotoxicity, bone-marrow depression, sepsis and paralytic ileus. Some side effects appear to be more frequent or more severe in patients previously subjected to irradiation and/or chemotherapy.