What is the role of enlarged lymph node resection alone in patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumor who had stage II or III disease?

Background: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection is an important treatment modality in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis. However, the role of more limited surgical approaches such as resection of enlarged lymph nodes only is still controversial. Patients and Methods: Between January 1991 and December 2010, charts of 94 patients who underwent resection of enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes alone were reviewed. Pathologic findings, local recurrence, and adverse effects were noted after this surgical approach. Results: The median age was 25.5 years. Twenty-one (22.6%) patients had lung metastasis, and 5 (5.4%) patients had nonregional lymph node metastasis at the initial visit. Eighty-seven (91.6%) patients received chemotherapy after inguinal orchiectomy, and the other patients had mass resection only for enlarged lymph nodes without prior chemotherapy. In patients who had chemotherapy before surgery, the median retroperitoneal lymph node size before and after chemotherapy cycles was 55 mm and 32.5 mm, respectively. The pathologic assessment of retroperitoneal masses revealed mature teratoma in 51.6% (n = 47) of patients, viable carcinoma in 20.9% (n = 19) of patients, and necrosis or fibrosis in 27.5% (n = 25) of patients. The median follow-up time was 60.2 months (range, 2.7-334.8 months). During follow-up, 5 (5.4%) patients had radiologic relapse at the retroperitoneal area, and 3 patients developed systemic metastases. Six (6.4%) patients died of their disease, 2 (2.1%) patients were alive with disease, 86 (91.5%) patients were healthy at the last follow-up. Ejaculation status was recorded in 56 patients. Antegrade ejaculation had preserved in 53 (94.6%) of these patients. Conclusions: Resection of enlarged lymph node metastases alone is a reasonable treatment option for patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors.