Treatment of invasive bladder cancer by local resection and high dose methotrexate

Fifty-seven patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, categories pT2, pT3a and pT3b, were treated by transurethral resection of the tumour mass (54 cases) or partial cystectomy (3 cases) followed by 8 doses of methotrexate 2 g i.v. every 3 weeks with appropriate Leucovorin rescue. At completion of chemotherapy 6 months after TUR 33/57 patients were tumour-free; 5/57 had new superficial tumours; 13/57 had persistent tumour invading muscle, 3 showed tumour progression and 3 had died from treatment complications. One-year survival was 45/57 (82%); 2-year survival was 23/39. Although some patients developed metastases and others have grown new superficial tumours, of those surviving, the bladder was free of the original invasive tumour in 38/45 (84%) at 1 year and in 19/24 (79%) at 2 years. It is concluded that transurethral resection plus high dose methotrexate may offer an effective alternative to radiotherapy or cystectomy for a significant proportion of patients with invasive bladder cancer.