[New therapeutic targets in testicular cancer: contribution of molecular biology].

Testicular cancer is curable by conventional cytotoxic drugs. Despite these excellent results, a group of patients remain incurable with standard chemotherapy, including patients who progress despite high-dose salvage chemotherapy, patients with malignant transformation of teratomas and patients with late recurrence. Tyrosine kinase receptors constitute a group of proteins which includes EGFr (Epidermal Growth Factor receptor) and c-Kit. The recent possibility of treatments targeted to the molecular level, particularly using agents directed against c-Kit and EGFr raise new hopes for the effective treatment of refractory testicular cancer.