A trial looking at treatment for men whose germ cell cancer has relapsed (GAMIO)

This trial looked at chemotherapy for men with germ cell cancer that had come back after treatment (relapsed).

Germ cells are the cells that produce sperm in males. Male germ cell cancers usually develop in the testicles, but can be found in other parts of the body.

We know from research that a combination of the following drugs can work for most men with relapsed germ cell cancer

• G-CSF (pegfilgrastim)

• Dactinomycin

• Methotrexate

• Etoposide

• Cisplatin

But this chemotherapy combination does not work as well for men over the age of 35 or who have high levels of a body chemical, called LDH, when their germ cell cancer comes back. LDH is a tumour marker for testicular cancer that helps doctors to see if the disease has come back.

To see if they could improve treatment, the men in this trial had the chemotherapy combination of G-CSF, dactinomycin, methotrexate, irinotecan and oxaliplatin.

The aims of this trial were to see

• If the combination of G-CSF, dactinomycin, methotrexate, irinotecan and oxaliplatin worked for men whose germ cell cancer had come back and who were over 35 with high levels of LDH

• How safe this chemotherapy combination was for this group of men and what the side effects were