Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced urothelial cancer of the upper urinary tract

Cisplatin-based multiple-drug chemotherapy is currently considered the most effective treatment for advanced and metastatic urothelial cancers. We treated 15 patients with locally advanced urothelial cancers of the upper urinary tract using the cisplatin-based multiple-drug regimen in a neoadjuvant setting. The regimens administered were: M-VAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin); MEC (methotrexate, etoposide and cisplatin), or M-VEC (methotrexate, vinblastine, epirubicin and cisplatin). Total nephroureterectomy was performed in all patients and response was evaluated pathologically Of 15 patients 2 (13%) achieved a pathological complete response, 6 (40%) a pathological partial response, for an overall response rate of 53% (95% confidence limits 29-77%). The median durations of response were 54 months for patients with a pathological complete response and 15.5 months for patients with a pathological partial response. One of six patients with a pathological partial response and 4 of 7 with no remission died of cancer. While a positive relationship between the pathological response and prognosis was observed, adequate follow-up is needed to assess the ability of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to improve the prognosis of patients with locally advanced urothelial cancer of the upper urinary tract.