[Pre- and paraclinical cooperative trials on testicular cancer. Background and overview of current trials].

Testicular malignancy is a rare disease. On average, no more than three patients per year are seen in the majority of urological departments in Germany. Thus, progress regarding management and biological understanding of testicular cancer can only result from cooperative trials. The "German Testicular Cancer Study Group" initiates and supports multicentric studies on testicular cancer focusing on both treatment modalities and basic ("paraclinical") issues. The body size study evaluates the hypothesis that testicular cancer is associated with adult stature. An exploratory study looks at the putative association of testicular cancer and Down syndrome (trisomy 21). Another study documents events of myocardial infarction during chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Finally, late relapses after a disease-free interval of more than two years are evaluated regarding risk factors and prognosis. All of the projects listed here are simple recording studies, i.e. no extended documentation work is required and no clinical intervention is intended. In Germany, chemotherapy for testicular cancer is usually applied by urologists, which is in marked contrast to international custom. Accordingly, urologists are not only facing the responsibility to care for their testis cancer patients but they must also adopt the task of advancing knowledge and clinical expertise with respect to this disease. Opportunities for simple but fruitful contributions to clinical research are offered to even nonacademic institutions by the projects highlighted here.