First-line chemotherapy with cisplatin, methotrexate and vinblastine in metastatic bladder cancer

To determine the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with cisplatin, methotrexate and vinblastine (CMV), we treated 21 chemotherapy naive patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Chemotherapy consisted of methotrexate (30 mg/m2 i.v. days 1 and 8), vinblastine (3 mg/m2 i.v. days 1 and 8) and cisplatin (100 mg/m2 i.v. day 2) every three weeks. Dominant metastatic sites were: soft tissues (7 patients), bone (6 patients), lung and liver (8 patients). A complete remission was achieved in 5/21 patients (24%, 95% CI 8-47%) and partial remission in 9/21 patients (43%, 95% CI 22-66%). The median duration was 6 months (2-11) and 9 months (2-26) for complete and partial remissions, respectively. The median survival for all 21 patients was 10 months. Although overall toxicity was mild, we observed myelosuppression grade IV in 2 patients, stomatitis grade III in 2 patients, cystitis grade III in 1 patient and infection grade III in 6 patients. There were no treatment-related deaths. Our data indicate that treatment with the CMV regimen is effective and that side effects are tolerable.