The Silent Side Effect: Addressing Ototoxicity in Germ Cell Tumor Treatment

Long-term survivorship and quality of life remain paramount considerations in oncology, particularly for highly curable malignancies like metastatic germ cell tumors. Read the full accompanying article on Oncology Data Advisor: https://oncdata.com/silent-side-effect-ototoxicity-germ-cell-tumor-treatment In this interview, Dr. Koral Shah discusses her team's open and enrolling randomized trial testing whether sodium thiosulfate can successfully mitigate cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in adult patients. She breaks down the pathophysiology of permanent high-frequency hearing loss, outlines the critical timing required when administering protective agents, and shares actionable insights into making audiology a proactive metric of comprehensive survivorship care. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 🔹 Understanding Ototoxicity: Exploring how cisplatin damages the outer hair cells within the cochlea, leading to high-frequency hearing loss and permanent tinnitus in up to 75% of germ cell tumor patients. 🔹 Protective Interventions & Rationale: Examining the mechanism of sodium thiosulfate (PEDMARK®) in binding reactive platinum species and why it must be given exactly six hours post-chemotherapy to maintain anti-cancer efficacy. 🔹 Evaluating Trial Design: Deconstructing City of Hope's randomized trial comparing physician-choice cisplatin-based chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy followed by sodium thiosulfate. 🔹 Clinical Trial Accrual & Scaling: Reviewing the primary and secondary endpoints—including ASHA criteria ototoxicity and progression-free survival—and plans for satellite site expansion. 🔹 Redefining Care Benchmarks: Practical strategies for oncology teams to proactively implement baseline audiology assessments, patient counseling, and multidisciplinary supportive care. Chapter Timestamps: About the Speaker: Dr. Koral Shah, MD, is a Hematology/Oncology Fellow at @cityofhope.