[The M-VEC chemotherapy of advanced bladder tumors]

The authors have treated 34 patients (32 men and 2 women) with advanced transient-cell bladder tumors. Depending on the degree of their infiltration, the tumors were divided in two groups: I. Locally advanced resectable tumors T2-T3B--25 patients, in 16 of whom TUR and in 9 open operation was performed; II. Locally advanced nonresectable tumors T3B-T4--9 patients, 8 of whom were not operated and in 1 ureterocystoneostomy was performed because of hydropyonephrosis. Modified M-VAC chemotherapeutic scheme was applied--M-VEC (epirubicin was substituted for adriablastin): methotrexat 30 mg/m2, vinblastin 3 mg/m2, pharmorubicin 30 mg/m2, biocysplatinum 70 mg/m2. This constellation was applied as adjuvant therapy for group I patients and as nonadjuvant for those of group II. The patients received from 1 to 4 treatment courses. The results of the postoperative application in group I patients were: 7 of those treated with M-VEC after TUR have no recurrence for a period of 12 months and 9 are still under treatment; 4 of the open operation group + M-VEC have no recurrence for 12 months and 4 are still under treatment. In group II where M-VEC was applied as nonadjuvant therapy partial remission was recorded in 3 patients. The authors' early studies on the M-VEC chemotherapeutic scheme in advanced bladder tumors assert the data of other authors: as adjuvant chemotherapy it guards against recurrences, as nonadjuvant may make 50 per cent of the patients operable; reducing the tumors to stages T0, T1 or T1S makes cystectomy unnecessary, thus preserving bladder and sexual function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)