A bladder preservation regimen using intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiotherapy for invasive bladder cancer: A prospective study

Background: A prospective study was performed to investigate combined treat ment with intraarterial chemotherapy and radiation therapy for bladder pres ervation in locally invasive bladder cancer. Methods: Patients with invasive bladder cancer, stage T2-3N0M0, were includ ed in the study. Intra-arterial chemotherapy was performed with three injec tions of methotrexate and cisplatin at 3-week intervals. Simultaneously, th e patients underwent X-ray irradiation (40 Gy) of the small pelvic space. W here a post-treatment transurethral resection (TUR) biopsy showed no residu al tumor, the tumor site was irradiated by a 30 Gy proton beam and the blad der was preserved. Where tumors remained, radical cystectomy was performed. Results: Between 1990 and 1996, 42 patients were treated according to this protocol. Posttreatment TUR biopsy and urine cytology showed no residual tu mors in 39 of 42 cases (93%). The bladder was preserved in accordance with the study protocol in 36 cases. A median follow-up of 38 months showed 3-ye ar non-recurrence in 72% of bladder-preserved patients and the rate of blad der preservation was 84%. The nine recurrences included eight cases of supe rficial bladder recurrence. One cancer death occurred among the bladder-pre sentation patients, giving 3-year sur vival and cause-specific survival rat es of 84% and 100%, respectively. Although bladder function decreased sligh tly in compliance, bladder capacity was retained in almost all cases. Conclusions: This regimen is useful for bladder preservation in T2-3 locall y invasive bladder cancer. Information from more cases and the results of m ore long-term observations are needed, as is an evaluation of appropriate s ubject selection and factors associated with quality of life issues, partic ularly regarding bladder function.