Treatment of bladder cancer with a combination of hyperthermia, radiation and bleomycin.

The treatment of urinary bladder cancer with hyperthermia in combination with radiation and bleomycin was investigated. Immediately following a daily course of external bladder irradiation (150-200 rad; total 4 week exposure of 3500-4000 rad), patients diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were irrigated with a solution of warmed saline (intravesical temperature, 42 degrees C-43 degrees C), containing 30 micrograms/ml bleomycin. Of a total of 33 patients, complete responses were observed in 14 patients, and partial responses were observed in 10. The side effects of the combined treatment were limited to local symptoms of bladder and urethral irritation. These preliminary results suggest that the combined use of hyperthermia, radiation, and bleomycin may represent an effective conservative therapy for the management of bladder cancer in humans.