SHORT SCHEDULE INTRAVESICAL MITOMYCIN PRECEDING TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION FOR RECURRENT TA-T1, G1-G2 BLADDER-CANCER

Aims and background: Intravesical instillations commonly follow resect ion, when all visible lesions have been removed, making impossible any direct assessment of efficacy. The study was conceived to evaluate th e ablative effect on the tumor and the efficacy in reducing the risk o f recurrence of short schedule intravesical chemotherapy administered before endoscopic resection. Study design: Four weekly intravesical in stillations of mitomycin C followed by transurethral resection (TUR) w ere administered to 37 patients with recurrent small volume superficia l bladder cancer. Results: At TUR no evidence of disease was found in 22 patients (70.9%) and residual disease in the remaining 9 (29.1%). A t a median follow-up of 15 months (range, 3.33) 16 of 31 patients (51. 6%) had recurrence of disease. The treatment was well tolerated. Concl usions: Short-schedule intravesical chemotherapy can completely ablate small volume recurrent superficial bladder cancer in a relevant numbe r of patients but is probably not sufficient to obtain long-term proph ylaxis.