German specialists treating testicular cancer follow different guidelines with resulting inconsistency in assessment of retroperitoneal lymph-node metastasis: clinical implications and possible corrective measures.
World J Urol
; 41(5): 1353-1358, 2023 May.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37014392
BACKGROUND: Testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are aggressive but highly curable tumors. To avoid over/undertreatment, reliable clinical staging of retroperitoneal lymph-node metastasis is necessary. Current clinical guidelines, in their different versions, lack specific recommendations on how to measure lymph-node metastasis. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the practice patterns of German institutions frequently treating testicular cancer for measuring retroperitoneal lymph-node size. METHODS: An 8-item survey was distributed among German university hospitals and members of the German Testicular Cancer Study Group. RESULTS: In the group of urologists, 54.7% assessed retroperitoneal lymph nodes depending on their short-axis diameter (SAD) (33.3% in any plane, 21.4% in the axial plane), while 45.3% used long-axis diameter (LAD) for the assessment (42.9% in any plane, 2.4% in the axial plane). Moreover, the oncologists mainly assessed lymph-node size based on the SAD (71.4%). Specifically, 42.9% of oncologists assessed the SAD in any plane, while 28.5% measured this dimension in the axial plane. Only 28.6% of oncologists considered the LAD (14.3% in any plane, 14.3% in the axial plane). None of the oncologists and 11.9% of the urologists (n = 5) always performed an MRI for the initial assessment, while for follow-up imaging, the use increased to 36.5% of oncologists and 31% of urologists. Furthermore, only 17% of the urologists, and no oncologists, calculated lymph-node volume in their assessment (p = 0.224). CONCLUSION: Clear and consistent measurement instructions are urgently needed to be present in all guidelines across different specialistic fields involved in testicular cancer management.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Neoplasias Testiculares
/
Neoplasias de Células Germinales y Embrionarias
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
World J Urol
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania
Pais de publicación:
Alemania