Lekas Alexandros, Papathomas Thomas G, Papatsoris Athanasios G, Deliveliotis Charalambos, Lazaris Andreas C
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Sismanoglio General Hospital, Medical School, 2nd Department of Urology, Athens, Greece.
Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2008 Dec;17(12):1889-99. doi: 10.1517/13543780802514195.
Albeit transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is a chemosensitive neoplasm, metastatic disease is related with poor prognosis and short-term survival data.
Cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy is recognised as the golden standard therapy for patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. However, owing to treatment-related toxicities and short-response durations, novel treatment options or agents, with both enhanced efficacy and tolerability, have been sought.
Reviewing the current status and addressing the future of novel anticancer therapeutics in metastatic urinary bladder cancer.
RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Non-platinum, single agents, such as gemcitabine and taxanes, as well as multidrug regimens in doublet or triplet chemotherapeutic combinations are regarded as promising alternatives. Dose intensification of conventional regimens, dose-dense sequential administration of new agents, the use of molecular markers for predicting chemosensitivity and the integration of biologically targeted agents to enhance chemotherapeutic efficacy are promising approaches.