Impact of symptomatic interval on prognosis of patients with stage III testicular cancer.

In patients with testicular cancer, the interval from the onset of symptoms to histologic diagnosis has been correlated with extent of disease. To determine whether or not the symptomatic interval was related to response to chemotherapy and extent of disease in patients presenting with metastatic disease, the charts of 253 patients treated with chemotherapy were reviewed. In the 123 patients presenting with metastatic disease, for whom the symptomatic interval was known, complete response was significantly associated with the symptomatic interval (P = 0.039). A trend was noted between the symptomatic interval and the extent of retroperitoneal metastases (P = 0.065). The survival of patients with testicular cancer in all stages may be improved by heightening public awareness through educational programs.