Single-dose carboplatin is effective against testicular cancer

Scientists in the United Kingdom report that a single dose of carboplatin (Paraplatin) after surgery for early testicular cancer is as safe and effective as 2 to 3 weeks of radiotherapy after surgery, with less toxicity, and with durable results.

The multicenter, international study of 1,477 patients with stage 1 seminoma, found similar rates of relapse-free survival 3 years after treatment: 94.8% in those who received carboplatin and 95.9% in those treated with the standard 3 weeks of radiation therapy (The Lancet 2005; 366:293-300). However, patients in the carboplatin group had fewer toxic effects and returned to work sooner than those in the radiation group. The single-dose chemotherapy also is more convenient than radiation therapy for patients, the authors said.

Five years after treatment, patients in the carboplatin group had 72% fewer tumors of the same type in the other testicle, reported lead researcher Tim Oliver, MD, of Barts and The London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry.

"We may be able to reduce the necessity of taking the whole testicle," Dr. Oliver told HealthDay News.