[Simultaneous radio-chemotherapy for infiltrating bladder carcinoma. What is new since 1997?]

Concomitant radiotherapy-chemotherapy is increasingly used in urology in the treatment of invasive bladder tumours. In 1997, the outcome of 552 patients was reported in the international literature. Two years later, another 617 patients had been treated according to various modalities. The initial complete response rate ranged from 56 to 87% (median: 70%). 5-year overall survival rates were between 55 and 68% for T2 tumours. The metastasis rate was between 22 and 35% for the overall treated population. Concomitant radiotherapy-chemotherapy using a platinum salt represents a possible therapeutic modality in some patients, but it cannot be considered to be equivalent to total cystectomy, which remains the reference treatment in operable patients with an operable tumour, achieving a 63 to 80% 5-year survival for pT2 tumours.