Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study

Abstract Background Given the substantial inconvenience caused by weekly bleomycin administration, we initiated a study to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the modified bleomycin combined with EP (modified-BEP) regimen in Chinese adult male patients with germ cell tumors (GCTs). Methods We cond...

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Main Authors: Ditian Shu, Riqing Huang, Meiting Chen, Haifeng Li, Xin An, Cong Xue, Anqi Hu, Fangjian Zhou, Kai Yao, Zhuowei Liu, Yanxia Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:Cancer Cell International
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-025-03774-2
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author Ditian Shu
Riqing Huang
Meiting Chen
Haifeng Li
Xin An
Cong Xue
Anqi Hu
Fangjian Zhou
Kai Yao
Zhuowei Liu
Yanxia Shi
author_facet Ditian Shu
Riqing Huang
Meiting Chen
Haifeng Li
Xin An
Cong Xue
Anqi Hu
Fangjian Zhou
Kai Yao
Zhuowei Liu
Yanxia Shi
author_sort Ditian Shu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Given the substantial inconvenience caused by weekly bleomycin administration, we initiated a study to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the modified bleomycin combined with EP (modified-BEP) regimen in Chinese adult male patients with germ cell tumors (GCTs). Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 274 adult male GCT patients treated with modified-BEP at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 2005 and 2022. The regimen involved a tri-weekly 5-day schedule with 30 IU modified bleomycin (administered on days 1, 3, and 5), 20 mg/m2 cisplatin (days 1–5), and 100 mg/m2 etoposide (days 1–5). The survival rates and safety profiles of the patients were analyzed. Results Among the patients, 42 patients received BEP in adjuvant setting, while 232 were treated with BEP in curative setting. With a median follow-up of 41.03 months among the curative patient population, the 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 79.33%, and the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 86.26%. Stratified by the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) prognostic groups, the 5-year OS rates of the good, intermediate, and poor risk groups were 99.05%, 92.84%, and 55.96% (P < 0.0001), respectively. Favorable responses, including complete remission and partial response with negative tumor markers, were achieved in 91.07% of good-risk, 84.13% of intermediate-risk, and 52.63% of poor-risk patients, with a significant difference (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis indicated that non-seminoma, poor risk group, mediastinal primary tumor, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 2 status were significantly associated with inferior PFS. In the entire cohort, major grade 3—4 adverse events included neutropenia (38.69%), anemia (4.74%), thrombocytopenia (5.11%), and febrile neutropenia (6.2%), with no death due to pulmonary toxicity. Conclusion The modified-BEP regimen showed an effective and tolerable treatment alternative for adult male GCT patients in China, offering greater convenience compared to the standard BEP regimen.
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spelling doaj-art-0a94e2672b8b4ddaae33bda82afd87d72025-08-20T02:17:49ZengBMCCancer Cell International1475-28672025-04-0125111010.1186/s12935-025-03774-2Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective studyDitian Shu0Riqing Huang1Meiting Chen2Haifeng Li3Xin An4Cong Xue5Anqi Hu6Fangjian Zhou7Kai Yao8Zhuowei Liu9Yanxia Shi10State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer CenterAbstract Background Given the substantial inconvenience caused by weekly bleomycin administration, we initiated a study to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the modified bleomycin combined with EP (modified-BEP) regimen in Chinese adult male patients with germ cell tumors (GCTs). Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 274 adult male GCT patients treated with modified-BEP at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 2005 and 2022. The regimen involved a tri-weekly 5-day schedule with 30 IU modified bleomycin (administered on days 1, 3, and 5), 20 mg/m2 cisplatin (days 1–5), and 100 mg/m2 etoposide (days 1–5). The survival rates and safety profiles of the patients were analyzed. Results Among the patients, 42 patients received BEP in adjuvant setting, while 232 were treated with BEP in curative setting. With a median follow-up of 41.03 months among the curative patient population, the 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 79.33%, and the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 86.26%. Stratified by the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) prognostic groups, the 5-year OS rates of the good, intermediate, and poor risk groups were 99.05%, 92.84%, and 55.96% (P < 0.0001), respectively. Favorable responses, including complete remission and partial response with negative tumor markers, were achieved in 91.07% of good-risk, 84.13% of intermediate-risk, and 52.63% of poor-risk patients, with a significant difference (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis indicated that non-seminoma, poor risk group, mediastinal primary tumor, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 2 status were significantly associated with inferior PFS. In the entire cohort, major grade 3—4 adverse events included neutropenia (38.69%), anemia (4.74%), thrombocytopenia (5.11%), and febrile neutropenia (6.2%), with no death due to pulmonary toxicity. Conclusion The modified-BEP regimen showed an effective and tolerable treatment alternative for adult male GCT patients in China, offering greater convenience compared to the standard BEP regimen.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-025-03774-2Germ cell tumorsModified chemotherapyPulmonary toxicityBEP
spellingShingle Ditian Shu
Riqing Huang
Meiting Chen
Haifeng Li
Xin An
Cong Xue
Anqi Hu
Fangjian Zhou
Kai Yao
Zhuowei Liu
Yanxia Shi
Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
Cancer Cell International
Germ cell tumors
Modified chemotherapy
Pulmonary toxicity
BEP
title Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
title_full Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
title_fullStr Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
title_full_unstemmed Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
title_short Efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with EP chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors: a retrospective study
title_sort efficacy and safety of modified bleomycin administration with ep chemotherapy in adult male patients with germ cell tumors a retrospective study
topic Germ cell tumors
Modified chemotherapy
Pulmonary toxicity
BEP
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-025-03774-2
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