Adjuvant chemotherapy with vinblastine, adriamycin, and UFT for renal-cell carcinoma

VAU therapy (vinblastine, Adriamycin, and UFT) was given postoperatively to 31 patients with stage I, II, or III renal-cell carcinoma, and the incidence of relapse as well as the survival of patients were studied. Administration was started at 7-14 days post-surgery; 5 mg/m2 vinblastine and 30 mg/m2 Adriamycin were given i.v. once every 4 weeks for a total of five courses, and three capsules of UFT (containing 300 mg tegafur) were given p.o. every day for 2-3 years. The postoperative observation period ranged from 2 years and 6 months to 7 years and 1 month (mean, 4 years and 2 months). The 1-year survival of patients was 100%, and the 3- and 5-year survival values were 96%. These results were significantly better (P less than 0.01) than the respective values (81%, 72%, and 60%) obtained for the historical controls, i.e., the 60 patients with stage I, II, or III renal-cell carcinoma who received no chemotherapy. Side effects such as alopecia, gastrointestinal symptoms, and myelosuppression were encountered, but all symptoms were so mild and transient that discontinuation of the treatment was not necessary. As VAU therapy might be useful as adjuvant chemotherapy for renal-cell carcinoma, it seems to merit further study.