Chemotherapy-related acute respiratory distress syndrome in germ cell tumors: a literature review

Germ cell tumors (GCTs) are one of the more curable solid cancers in men. Approximately 8500 men are diagnosed with GCTs in the USA. The majority of patients survive due to the availability of effective treatment. Fewer than 400 men are estimated to die from their disease. Among those, there is a subset of patients with metastatic GCTs receiving chemotherapy who rapidly develop progressive respiratory failure and die during the early phase of their treatment course. In this review, we searched the available literature for reported cases and retrospective series of chemotherapy-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome in GCTs. We aim to determine whether a different approach from current treatment guidelines could be considered to prevent this catastrophic chemotherapy-related event.