Coordinated chemoradiation therapy with genital preservation for the treatment of primary invasive carcinoma of the male urethra.

PURPOSE

We evaluated the efficacy of a combined chemoradiation therapy protocol for the primary treatment of primary invasive carcinoma of the male urethra.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From January 1991 to December 2006, 18 patients with invasive carcinoma of the male urethra referred to our institution were treated with a chemoradiation therapy protocol, consisting of 2 cycles of 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m(2)) on days 1 to 4 and days 29 to 32, and mitomycin-C (10 mg/m(2)) on days 1 and 29 with concurrent external beam radiation therapy (45 to 55 Gy in 25 fractions during 5 weeks) to the genitalia, perineum, and inguinal and external iliac lymph nodes. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to assess overall, disease specific and disease-free survival.

RESULTS

The stage and node distribution was T2N0 in 2 patients (11%), T3N0 in 8 (44%), T4N0 in 2 (11%), TXN1 in 1(6%) and TXN2 in 5 (28%). The most prevalent histology was moderately (7 of 18 patients or 39%) or poorly (10 of 18 or 56%) differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (17 of 18 or 95%). Overall 83% (15 of 18) of the patients had a complete response to the primary chemoradiation therapy protocol, and the 5-year overall and disease specific survival rates were 60% and 83%, respectively. Five-year disease-free survival rates after chemoradiation therapy and after chemoradiation therapy with salvage surgery were 54% and 72%, respectively. The 3 nonresponders died of disease after undergoing salvage surgery and 5 of the 15 complete responders (30%) had recurrence. Complex urethral reconstruction was required in 3 of 10 patients (30%) who had prolonged disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The chemoradiation therapy protocol is an alternative primary treatment modality for invasive urethral carcinoma. It enables an unprecedented potential for organ preservation.