Salvage Treatment for Extragonadal Germ Cell Tumours: High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Outcomes-A Single-Centre Experience

Objective: Extragonadal germ cell tumours have a more unfavourable prognosis than gonadal germ cell tumours. We aimed to evaluate the survival analysis, response rates, and factors affecting responses to high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with relapsed/refractory extragonadal germ cell tumours. Methods: This study included patients diagnosed with extragonadal germ cell tumours who underwent HDCT + ASCT between November 2016 and January 2023 at G & uuml;lhane Training and Research Hospital. Clinical characteristics and follow-up data from patient records and the hospital's electronic system were retrospectively analysed. Patients under 18 years of age and those without medical records were excluded. Patient characteristics, post-HDCT progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) data, and factors affecting survival were examined. The relationship between clinical factors and OS/PFS was analysed. Results: Twenty-five patients were included in this study. Complete response (CR) was observed in seven patients (28%), partial response (PR) was observed in nine patients (36%), stable disease (SD) was observed in one patient, and progressive disease (PD) was observed in eight patients (32%) after HDCT + ASCT. The median follow-up period was 25.4 months. The median PFS and OS after HDCT + ASCT were calculated as 6.1 months and 12.2 months, respectively. Conclusions: Salvage HDCT + ASCT is an option in the treatment of extragonadal germ cell tumours, offering the potential for prolonged survival and curing.