Carboplatin-based chemotherapy for bladder cancer

Urothelial cancer is common and the prognosis of patients with locally advanced tumors treated with conventional treatment is poor. In this trial we examined responses among 72 urothelial cancer patients referred for treatment with MVMJ (methotrexate/vinblastine/mitoxantrone/carboplatin) chemotherapy. Sixty-four evaluable patients, 37 with locally advanced and 27 with metastatic urothelial cancer, were treated. Twenty-nine (45%) of the 64 patients had a complete or partial response, 15 (23%) had stable disease, and 13 (20%) had disease progression. The median survival of the responding patients has not been reached (range, 114 to 1184+ days). Twelve patients (32%) with locally advanced disease had a complete response to treatment; their median survival has not been reached and ranges up to 1131+ days. Five patients (18%) with metastatic cancer had a complete response to treatment and their median survival was 497 days (range, 184 to 637+). There were seven deaths within the first treatment month.