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A randomized trial of early intravesical instillation of epirubicin in superficial bladder cancer

  • Session 3: Superficial Bladder Cancer
  • Superficial Bladder Cancer, Intravesical instillation, Epirubicin
  • Published:
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Abstract

A total of 135 patients with superficial bladder cancer diagnosed as totally resectable were entered into a randomized multicenter trial to investigate the efficacy of early intravesical epirubicin instillation after resection in comparison with transurethral resection (TUR) alone. Epirubicin (40 mg/40 ml saline) was given within 24 h of TUR and once during the 1st week, weekly for 4 weeks, and then monthly for 11 months. In all, 122 patients (90.4%) were eligible and 119 (88.1%) were evaluable. The interval to initial recurrence was significantly longer (P=0.02) in the epirubicin group (36 months; 95% confidence interval, 32–40 months) than in the group receiving TUR alone (28 months; 95% confidence interval, 24–32 months). The recurrence rate per year in the epirubicin group was less than that in the TUR-alone group (0.13 versus 0.29 annual recurrences). Disease progression was observed in only one patient in the epirubicin-instillation group. The main toxicity encountered was bladder irratation (13.8%). These results demonstrate that early intravesical epirubicin instillation is efficacious in preventing local recurrence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65. Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, 466, Nagoya, Japan

    Kikuo Okamura, Toshio Shimoji & Koji Miyake

  2. Department of Urology, Japanese Red Cross Nagoya First Hospital, 3-35, Michishita-cho, Nakamura-ku, 453, Nagoya, Japan

    Tatsuro Murase

  3. Department of Urology, Japanese Red Cross Nagoya Second Hospital, 2-9, Myoken-cho, Showa-ku, 466, Nagoya, Japan

    Koji Obata

  4. Department of Urology, Shakai Hoken Chukyo Hospital, 1-1-10, Sanjo, Minami-ku, 457, Nagoya, Japan

    Shinichi Ohshima

  5. Department of Urology, Komaki Shimin Hospital, 1-20, Tsunebushin, 485, Komaki, Japan

    Yoshinari Ono

  6. Department of Urology, Shiritsu Yokkaichi Hospital, 2-2-37, Shibata-cho, 510, Yokkaichi, Japan

    Takao Sakata

  7. Department of Physiology, Nagoya City University Medical School, 1, Aza Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, 467, Nagoya, Japan

    Yasuhiro Hasegawa

Authors
  1. Kikuo Okamura
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  2. Tatsuro Murase
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  3. Koji Obata
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  4. Shinichi Ohshima
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  5. Yoshinari Ono
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  6. Takao Sakata
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  7. Yasuhiro Hasegawa
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  8. Toshio Shimoji
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  9. Koji Miyake
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The Nagoya University Urological Oncology Group

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Okamura, K., Murase, T., Obata, K. et al. A randomized trial of early intravesical instillation of epirubicin in superficial bladder cancer. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 35 (Suppl 1), S31–S35 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686916

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686916

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