21st Century Oncology / John J. Coen*
Abstract
PURPOSE:
Fluorouracil plus cisplatin and radiation twice a day (FCT) is an established chemoradiation (CRT) regimen for selective bladder-sparing treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Gemcitabine and once daily radiation (GD) is a well-supported alternative. The current trial evaluates these regimens.
METHODS:
Patients with cT2-4a muscle-invasive bladder cancer were randomly assigned to FCT or GD. Patients underwent transurethral resection and induction CRT to 40 Gy. Patients who achieved a complete response (CR) received consolidation CRT to 64 Gy and others underwent cystectomy. We administered adjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy. The primary end point was the rate of freedom from distant metastasis at 3 years (DMF3). The trial was not statistically powered to compare regimens, but to assess whether either regimen exceeded a DMF3 benchmark of 75%. Toxicity and efficacy end points, including CR and bladder-intact distant metastasis free survival at 3 years (BI-DMFS3), were assessed.
RESULTS:
From December 2008 to April 2014, 70 patients were enrolled, of which 66 were eligible for analysis, 33 per arm. Median follow-up was 5.1 years (range, 0.4 to 7.8 years) for eligible living patients. DMF3 was 78% and 84% for FCT and GD, respectively. BI-DMFS3 was 67% and 72%, respectively. Postinduction CR rates were 88% and 78%, respectively. Of 33 patients in the FCT arm, 21 (64%) experienced treatment-related grade 3 and 4 toxicities during protocol treatment, with 18 (55%), two (6%), and two patients (6%) experiencing grade 3 and 4 hematologic, GI, and genitourinary toxicity, respectively. For the 33 patients in the GD arm, these figures were 18 (55%) overall and 14 (42%), three (9%) and two patients (6%), respectively.
CONCLUSION:
Both regimens demonstrated DMF3 greater than 75%. There were fewer toxicities observed in the GD arm. Either gemcitabine and once daily radiation or a cisplatin-based regimen could serve as a base for future trials of systemic therapy.
Author information
Coen JJ1, Zhang P2, Saylor PJ3, Lee CT4, Wu CL3, Parker W5, Lautenschlaeger T6, Zietman AL3, Efstathiou JA3, Jani AB7, Kucuk O7, Souhami L5, Rodgers JP2, Sandler HM7, Shipley WU3.
1
1 21st Century Oncology, Providence, RI.
2
2 NRG Oncology, Philadelphia, PA.
3
3 Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
4
4 Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
5
5 McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
6
6 Indiana University Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN.
7
7 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.