Low-dose versus standard-dose gemcitabine infusion and cisplatin for patients with advanced bladder cancer: A randomized phase II trial.

Abstract

266 Background: Bladder carcinoma is the foremost oncologic problem in Egypt. Prolonged infusion of gemcitabine and cisplatin is an effective treatment for advanced bilharzial-related bladder cancer based on a previously published phase II trial. Methods: To compare efficacy and safety of both prolonged infusion and standard gemcitabine-cisplatin combination, this phase II randomized study of 60 untreated patients with stage III/IV bladder cancer was conducted. Patients were randomized to receive either gemcitabine (250 mg/m2) 6-hour infusion on days 1 and 8, and cisplatin (70 mg/m2) on day 2 every 21-day cycle (Arm1) or gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m2) 30-min infusion on days 1 and 8, and cisplatin (70 mg/m2) on day 2 every 21-day cycle (Arm 2). Results: The 47 males and 13 females had a median age of 60 years (range 40-73 years). A total of 44 patients had transitional cell, 12 had squamous cell, and 4 had undifferentiated cell carcinoma. Among the 53 evaluable patients (26 patients in arm1 and 27 patients in arm 2), complete response rate was achieved in 19.3% (5/26 patients of arm 1) and 7.4% (2/27 patients of arm 2). Eight patients in arm 1 (30.7%) and 7 patients (25.9%) in arm 2 had partial response on therapy. Thus the overall response rate of patients in arm1 and arm 2 was 50% (13/26 patients) and 33.3% (9/27patients), respectively (p = 0.21). No significant difference in median time to disease progression (6.7 months versus 7.9 months, p = 0.42), median survival (9.7 months versus 8.8 months, p = 0.3), and 1-year survival (27% versus 6%, p = 0.3) was detected between arms 1 and 2, respectively. No treatment- related deaths occurred. Main hematologic and nonhematologic toxicities were similar in both arms with no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: In the treatment of advanced bilharzial bladder cancer, gemcitabine in low dose and prolonged infusion in combination with cisplatin is not inferior to high-dose short infusion gemcitabine and cisplatin in terms of overall survival, time to disease progression, and response rates with favorable toxicity profile and less financial costs. No significant financial relationships to disclose.