Urinary excretion of platinum in chemotherapy-treated long-term survivors of testicular cancer.

As the majority of patients with metastatic testicular cancer are cured by cisplatin-based chemotherapy and can expect an additional life span of around 50 years, late toxicity is of particular relevance. Urine and serum concentrations of platinum were determined by voltammetry in 37 patients at 5.3 to 16.8 years after cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Urinary excretion and serum levels of platinum were 100 to 1000 times higher in patients than in unexposed controls. There may be an association between platinum storage and endocrinologic and metabolic late sequelae, as well as a risk of second cancer. However, further research is necessary to clarify the biological relevance of long-term storage of platinum.