Int J Urol. 2007; published online ahead of print
Combining cisplatin-based intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiotherapy is effective long-term for local invasive bladder carcinoma, according to a Japanese study.
The study included 24 patients (18 men and six women) with a median age of 73 years (range 31-85 years). All patients received cisplatin-based intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiotherapy for invasive bladder carcinoma. The median follow-up period was 60 months. The subjects then underwent biopsy to confirm the pathologic diagnosis.
The five-year overall survival rate and cancer-specific survival rate for the study population were 81.6% and 85.6%, respectively.
Ten patients had a complete response (CR) and 14 had a non-complete response (non-CR). The five-year overall survival rate for the CR and non-CR groups was 87.5% and 78.6%, a nonsignificant difference between groups. This study finding suggests the possibility of bladder preservation with periodic examinations in CR patients.
Tumor grade was significantly lower in the CR group than in the non-CR group. When the
non-CR group was divided into those who underwent radical cystectomy and those who did not, the five-year overall survival rate was 100% for the radical cystectomy group and 70% for the patients who did not have radical surgery, but the difference was not statistically significant.