[The second-line chemotherapy for urological cancers]

This review summarizes second-line chemotherapy for testicular cancer and urothelial cancer. For testicular cancer, the combination of bleomycin (BLM), etoposide (ETP), and cisplatin (CDDP) (BEP) is commonly used as an induction therapy. The combination of vinblastine (VLB), ifosfamide (IFM) and CDDP (VeIP) or ETP, IFM, and CDDP (VIP) is used for the second-line chemotherapy. When the efficacy of VeIP and VIP is not sufficient, high-dose chemotherapy or chemotherapy with new anticancer agents has been used for the second-line chemotherapy. High-dose chemotherapy showed long-term survival rates of 30-50%, but patients with testicular cancer resistance to CDDP have poor outcomes. Although new anticancer agents, such as paclitaxel (TXL), gemcitabine (GEM) and irinotecan have been introduced, further examinations are needed to evaluate these drugs. The combination of methotrexate, VLB, adriamycin, and CDDP (MVAC) is used as the standard chemotherapy for urothelial cancer. The outcomes of MVAC are favorable, but the duration of response is short and long-term survival cannot be expected. Recently, the efficacy of new anticancer agents including TXL and GEM against urothelial cancers has been demonstrated. Although TXL and GEM combination therapy as the second-line chemotherapy has some effects, more evidence needs to be accumulated to establish it as a second-line treatment.