Dr Ben Tran speaks to ecancer about the initial results from the CLIMATE study.

This study evaluated post-orchiectomy circulating miR-371 as a biomarker for predicting recurrence in patients with clinical stage I testicular germ cell tumours (CS1 TGCT) undergoing active surveillance.

Among 196 patients, with a median follow-up of 18.9 months, 40 recurrences occurred.

Detectable baseline plasma miR-371 showed strong predictive performance, with positive predictive value of 62% and negative predictive value of 91%.

Patients with detectable miR-371 had significantly worse recurrence-free survival compared with those without detectable levels.

miR-371 also outperformed traditional clinical risk factors in predicting recurrence for both seminoma and non-seminoma subtypes.

Dr Tran concludes by saying that these findings suggest that post-orchiectomy miR-371 is a marker of minimal residual disease and a strong predictor of recurrence, supporting its potential role in guiding risk-adapted management and adjuvant therapy decisions in CS1 TGCT.