Platinum drug sensitivity and resistance in testicular germ cell tumors:two sides of the same coin

Testicular germ cell tumors(TGCTs)represent the most common malignancies in young males but they also show the highest cure rate in solid tumors with more than 95%newly diagnosed TGCTs being ultimately cured[1].Singh et al.[2]recently provided precious insight into the genomic aberrations underpinning the molecular characteristics of these tumors and a clear presentation of the mechanisms underlying sensitivity/resistance to platinum.More importantly,the authors identified pre-target,on-target and post-target factors that can explain,the two sides of the same coin:the exquisite sensitivity of these cancers to platinum-based chemotherapy and at the same time,drug resistance when these factors are lacking.