Multimodal treatment of locally advanced transitional cell bladder carcinoma in elderly patients

22 patients with locally advanced (T3-T4, M0) transitional cell bladder carcinoma, age greater than 70 years, with medical contraindication or refusal of radical cystectomy, were treated following an ample transurethral resection (TUR), with three chemotherapy cycles. Each cycle consisted of 5-fluorouracil 500 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) on days 1 and 8, epirubicin 60 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1. Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks. Subsequently, patients were submitted to a repeat TUR on the area of the initial neoplasm. At computed tomography (CT) scan evaluation, response rate to chemotherapy was 54.5%, with two complete responses. No residual disease (R0) at postchemotherapy TUR was encountered in 8 cases (36%), and microscopic disease (R1) in 4 cases (18%). Median duration of complete responses (R0) was 13.5 months (range 7-57+). Radiation therapy was carried out in 12/14 patients with residual disease at repeat TUR. Overall median duration of response was 10.2 months, while overall actuarial median survival was 11.6 months. Four-year survival was 29%. The approach described was feasible. The chemotherapy regimen employed was not as active as current regimens used in younger patients. The search for more active regimens which are tolerable by the elderly is important.