[The role of etoposide therapy in urogenital cancer]

Testicular cancer is recognized as a model of curable cancer by chemotherapy, and etoposide is the one of the most important drugs in its treatment. Etoposide has been used with cisplatin and bleomycin as a first-line combination chemotherapy since the early 1980s. It is now the key drug in the setting of high-dose chemotherapy for refractory cases. Oral, low-dose etoposide may provide effective palliation in some patients refractory to possible curative salvage therapy. Oral etoposide may also play a role in the maintenance therapy adjunctive to salvage therapy. Nevertheless, etoposide has failed to show definite therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. The combination therapy of oral etoposide and estramustine, however, showed promising results for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Further investigations are required for this new treatment strategy for prostatic cancer.