[Immunochemotherapy of advanced bladder tumors]

During the period June 1986-January 1988, 10 patients with advanced bladder tumors were treated by systematic intra-arterial chemotherapy with Cyclophosphamide 800-1,000 mg/m2, Farmorubicine 40-50 mg/m2, Biocisplatin 60-70 mg/m2, combined with bladder instillation of BCG using 6 ampoules of Calgevax vaccine 0.6-1.8 x 10(9) in the form of a long term therapeutic treatment. The patients, who had stage T2, T3 or T4 tumors either had contraindications to surgery or refused surgical treatment. Two patients showed very good results following the treatment. One patient had a relapse after surgical treatment but is currently in complete surgical remission. Four patients, i.e. 40%, had a partial response; 8 months later progression of the disease was noted in one case, while in the 4 others the disease was stable. The mean survival rate from the start of treatment was estimated at 12.4 months, and ranged from 8 to 20 months. There were no cases of activation of the disease following administration of the above treatment. The results obtained should be considered as preliminary in view of the small number of patients and the short period of follow up. Nevertheless, these preliminary satisfactory results are a starting point for the performance of larger and more involved studies related to research into the new possibilities of chemotherapy associated with immunotherapy in the treatment of bladder tumors.