Tuesday 4 March 2003
A trial led by doctors and scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital has suggested a dramatic improvement to the cure rate for young men with an aggressive form of testicular cancer.
Although the majority of young men with testicular cancer can expect to be cured, some have very advanced disease at diagnosis, when the outlook is much more uncertain. Now an intensive regime of chemotherapy has seen 88 per cent of these patients surviving the disease.
The study, with funding from Cancer Research UK, involved 54 patients with testicular cancer who had a poor prognosis, with international data predicting they would only have a 50% chance of survival. They were given an intensified, accelerated chemotherapy treatment for the first four weeks followed by more standard chemotherapy, and it was found that at 5 years from treatment 83% had remained recurrence-free and 88% were alive.
Dr Robert Huddart of The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital comments: "This type of tumour cell is known to divide and proliferate rapidly during the early stages of treatment and our intensive dosing early on may help to overcome this. These results are the best yet to be achieved internationally for patients suffering from aggressive testicular cancer. We would now want to set up a randomised trial to test this regime against standard treatment to confirm the benefit."
Professor Peter Rigby, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research adds: "96% of testicular cancers are curable when caught early enough and the results of this trial suggest that a great step forward has now been made in treating a particularly aggressive form of the disease. A further advantage of this treatment is that it uses existing drugs in a different way, so it is easily available."
Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in young men, mostly affecting those between the ages of 20 and 35. There are now 1,600 cases a year, an increase of 70% in the last 20 years.
Cally Palmer, Chief Executive of The Royal Marsden Hospital comments: “The results of this trial are encouraging for patients with aggressive testicular cancer and may pave the way for improved treatment of the disease across the country.”
Professor Robert Souhami, Director of Clinical Research at Cancer Research UK says: “Testicular cancer responds amazingly well to chemotherapy and more than nine out of ten cases are successfully treated. But there is a small percentage of aggressive testicular cancers that do not respond well to conventional chemotherapy. It’s vital that we focus on ways to improve treatment for patients with these tumours and the results from this trial look very promising. We will await the results from the next stage of this study, comparing this treatment against the standard, with great interest.”
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For further information, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Marie MacLean
Press Officer
Institute of Cancer Research
Tel: 020 7153 5359
Email: [email protected]
Notes to editors
- The Institute of Cancer Research is home to Europe’s only dedicated male cancer research centre and set up the Everyman Campaign in 1997 to raise awareness of and funds for prostate and testicular cancers.
- The Institute of Cancer Research is a world leader in cancer drug discovery and development. The Institute and the Royal Marsden, the world's oldest cancer hospital, form Europe's largest cancer research, treatment and training centre.
- The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with leading scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.
- The Royal Marsden is a specialist hospital dedicated to the treatment and care of patients with cancer and to education about cancer and its prevention. It is the world's oldest hospital dedicated completely to the treatment and study of the disease and was named as one of six centres of excellence in the NHS Plan. Over 30,000 patients attend its sites in Chelsea and Sutton each year from all over the UK and abroad.
- Cancer Research UK is Europe’s leading cancer charity, dedicated to curing, treating and preventing the disease through world-class research. It relies almost entirely on voluntarily donations from the public to fund the vital work of its 3000 scientists, doctors and nurses. Its grants provide approximately 25% of The Institute of Cancer Research’s total income.
Please note:
Unfortunately the press office are unable to answer queries from the general public. For general cancer information please refer to The Institute's cancer information page.