Understanding Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Biology and Improving Management as Keys to Success

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Background

Germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common malignancies among adolescent and young adult men. The incidence has been rising steadily worldwide over the past 50 years and is highest in Northern and Central Europe. GCTs are a model of curable cancer with cure rates among the highest in solid tumors of more than 95% of all patients, and approaching 90% even in disseminated disease. However, 10% to 15% of patients with metastatic disease will fail cisplatin-based first-line treatment and need salvage treatment. To achieve optimal outcome, expertise and optimal management within a multidisciplinary team is crucial. Diagnosis, staging and management of patients with GCTs is highly standardized. Non-compliance with published international guidelines is a major factor impeding treatment outcomes. Overtreatment must be avoided to reduce long-term toxicities. On the other hand, treatment intensification should be considered in patients with poor response to first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

In order to further improve treatment outcomes, two areas are of special importance: Firstly, improving our understanding of treatment resistance by better characterization of the underlying biology, ultimately aiming at identifying new treatment targets. Secondly ensure optimal delivery of patient management by dissemination of high level evidence (e.g. from clinical trials or database/ registries analysis managed by large national or international study groups) avoiding both under and over treatment. This Research Topic aims therefore at illuminating the latest issues and insights, both clinical and pre-clinical, in GCT biology and disease management and covers the whole spectrum from basic research to innovative ways of patient’s management and participation using social media and interactive tools.

The Research Topic will focus, although not exclusively, on the following themes:
-Advances in GCT biology and genetics
-Pathology of GCTs
-Pitfalls and challenges in diagnosis and staging of GCT patients
-MicroRNAs as a new markers in GCT
-Advances in patient management: first line therapy
-Management of residual disease after first line therapy
-Salvage therapy including high-dose chemotherapy
-Prophylaxis and management of acute toxicity including prophylaxis of thromboembolic events
-Prophylaxis and management of long term effects
-Innovative ways of patient management, including use of social media and interactive tools, patient reported outcome, and management in remote areas and in countries with limited resources and access to medical care

Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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