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Testicular Germ Cell Tumours

  • Chapter
Human Cancer in Primary Culture, A Handbook

Part of the book series: Developments in Oncology ((DION,volume 64))

Abstract

In this chapter, I will discuss the cultivation in vitro of cells from biopsy specimens of human testicular germ cell tumours. These fascinating tumours command the attention of oncologists and biologists for several reasons. From the standpoint of the cancer therapist, while germ cell tumours represent one of the few success stories achieved with cytotoxic drugs, the basis of this success remains uncertain and we have therefore learned nothing as yet that would guide us toward the same goal with more common solid tumours. Moreover, despite the high overall cure rates, certain problems linger: a substantial proportion of patients with advanced disease still die from the disease, there are strong reasons for attempting to reduce the toxicity of treatment, and there is still room for improvement in the quality of diagnosis and prognostic indicators. For the cancer biologist, teratocarcinomas are the most striking example of the relationship between differentiation and expression of the malignant phenotype, and as such, provide a useful paradigm for the study of this aspect of cancer cell behaviour. Finally, the experimental biologist has in teratocarcinoma and seminoma the potential to study aspects of the biology of embryonic cells and germ cell precursors respectively in vitro. For investigators interested in these phenomena in man, there are presently no alternatives to the study of germ cell tumours.

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Authors
  1. Martin F. Pera
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Urology, University College, London, UK

    J. R. W. Masters

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Pera, M.F. (1991). Testicular Germ Cell Tumours. In: Masters, J.R.W. (eds) Human Cancer in Primary Culture, A Handbook. Developments in Oncology, vol 64. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3304-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3304-3_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5459-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3304-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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