THE ROLE OF ABDOMINAL COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TESTICULAR-TUMORS

Computed Tomography (CT) has been evaluated in 85 patients with malignant testicular teratoma. Sequential abdominal CT scans have been performed in 47% of these patients. While lymphography demonstrated the presence of lymph node metastases in a high proportion of cases, CT showed the full extent of disease more precisely in all patients with a positive lymphogram. Quantitative estimations of tumor volume were made in 11 patients and this appears to be an effective method of demonstrating tumor response. The clinical implications of CT are examined in relation to staging, monitoring progress to treatment and assessing operability of demonstrable residual disease.