Adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive bladder cancer

A total of 20 patients with primary invasive bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy using a CAP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin) or modified M-VAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, pirarubicin, and cisplatin) regimen. In all, 16 of the patients were treated with CAP and 4 received the modified M-VAC regimen. Of the 20 patients, 17 had transitional-cell carcinoma with or without non-transitional-cell elements. All of the patients had tumors with a histological grade of G2 (6 cases) or G3 (14 cases). As for lymph-node metastasis, there were ten N0 cases, three N1 cases, six N2 cases, and one N3 case. Adjuvant chemotherapy was usually commenced 2 weeks after the surgery and was given every 3-4 weeks for two or three cycles. The 5-year survival rate of these 20 patients was 65.9%, whereas that of 49 patients who did not receive any adjuvant chemotherapy was 30.2%. Regarding toxicity, both of the adjuvant chemotherapy regimens used in this study were generally well tolerated. The most common toxic effects were gastrointestinal symptoms, alopecia, and myelosuppression. Another 19 patients with invasive transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder received 2 or 3 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using the modified M-VAC or MEC (methotrexate, epirubicin, and cisplatin) regimen. Of 18 pathologically evaluable patients who underwent radical cystectomy or partial cystectomy, the stage was pT0 in 3 cases (17%), pTis in 3 (17%), pT1 in 3 (17%), and pT2 or higher in 9 (50%). The 4-year survival rate of 18 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy was 71.5%. Regarding toxicity, one patient died of a bowel complication after surgery, and the complication was suggested to be drug-induced.