Staging of Early Nonseminomatous Germ‐Cell Testicular Cancer

The common clinical staging techniques for nonseminomatous testicular cancer fail to predict the pathologic stage in a significant number of patients with Stages I, IIS, and IIA disease. Newer techniques such as ultrasonography and computed tomography are useful in more advanced disease (Stages IIB or higher), but neither can detect microscopic metastases (Stage IIA). The accuracy of clinical staging may be improved by the discovery of new tumor markers and the devising of assays for tumor-associated antigens, but at present retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy is needed for staging as well as for treatment.