Seventeen patients with malignant ovarian germ cell tumors were treated with vinblastine, actinomycin D, bleomycin and cisplatin containing combinations. Many of these patients were heavily pretreated. Thirteen patients had objectively measurable disease and ten (77%) had an objective response (CR or PR). Four patients had nonmeasurable disease or were treated in an adjuvant setting and all remain without evidence of disease. Extensive disease and poor performance status were poor prognostic factors. Induction portions of these treatment programs which contained cisplatin appeared most effective. Maintenance portions without cisplatin appeared less effective.
Cancer 50:1070-1075, 1982.
ERM CELL malignancies of the ovary are a rare G phenomenon. They comprise approximately 5% of all ovarian cancers and include under current nomenclature: dysgerminoma, endodermal sinus tumor, embryonal carcinoma, immature teratoma, and mixed germ cell tumors.'-4 Their analogous testicular counterparts are respectively seminoma, yolk sac tumor, embryonal carcinoma, immature teratoma, and teratocarcinoma.
Dysgerminomas are, like their seminoma counterparts, exquisitely radiosensitive, and are typically successfully managed without chemotherapy. In contrast, early reports suggested that other ovarian germ cell tumors when treated postoperatively with irradiation or single agent chemotherapy had a uniformly poor prognosis with few survivor^.^^^ Curry el af.' more recently have shown that combination chemotherapy after debulking surgery for ad-From the Solid Tumor Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial