Analysis of Japanese Patients Treated with or without Long-Term Epirubicin Plus Ara-C Intravesical Instillation Therapy for Low-Grade Superficial Bladder Cancer

The high incidence of tumor recurrence following transurethral resection (TUR) represents a major problem encountered in the management of bladder cancer. This study examined the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy in superficial bladder cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 90 Japanese cases with l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tomonori Kato, Kazushi Nomura, Fukuo Kondo, Masami Wakisaka, Akira Komiya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/325305
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Summary:The high incidence of tumor recurrence following transurethral resection (TUR) represents a major problem encountered in the management of bladder cancer. This study examined the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy in superficial bladder cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 90 Japanese cases with low-grade superficial transitional cell carcinoma (stage T1, grades 1 and 2) who were rendered tumor-free by TURBT (TUR of bladder tumor) and who thereafter were treated with or without intravesical chemotherapy. Among them, instillation was terminated in 2 patients due to adverse effects (severe but reversible chemical cystitis). Remaining 88 patients were divided into 2 groups according to therapy: the TURBT-only group (n=46), defined as patients treated with TURBT alone, and the Instillation group (n=42), defined as patients treated with weekly intravesical instillation therapies using epirubicin plus Ara-C. Recurrence-free rate was significantly higher in the Instillation group than in the TURBT-only group (p=0.02, HR = 0.457). The 5-year recurrence-free rate was 58.5% for the Instillation group and 38.6% for the TURBT-only group. Our instillation schedule represents the most intensive regimen among previously reported therapies and resulted in a 54.3% decrease in incidence of tumor recurrence. We believe that the results of this study could provide useful information on management of bladder cancer.
ISSN:2356-6140
1537-744X