[Clinical efficacy of methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin adjuvant chemotherapy following radical surgery for locally invasive urothelial cancers: long-term results].

Determined were long-term results of methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin (M-VAC) adjuvant chemotherapy following radical surgery for locally invasive urothelial cancers. All cases at least histologically exhibited one of the following findings, a stage beyond pT3b (bladder cancer) or pT3 (upper tract urothelial cancer), lymph duct tumor involvement (ly +), venous involvement (V +), and/or regional lymph node involvement (N1) without any evidence of distant metastasis and/or residual tumors. Two cycles of M-VAC chemotherapy were given after radical surgery for each case. A total of 33 cases comprising 21 bladder cancers and 12 upper tract urothelial cancers following cystectomy and/or nephroureterectomy with partial cystectomy who had a mean follow-up period of 56.7 +/- 9.2 months could be analyzed. Overall actuarial survival rates of three- and five-years estimated by Kaplan-Meier method were respectively 41.9% and 31.6%. These results indicate that the postoperative outcome was extremely poor in patients with locally advanced urothelial cancer even after extensive adjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, more effective modalities including optimal dose and scheduling of chemotherapy are needed to assure therapeutic improvement of locally invasive urothelial cancers.