Researchers from Italy have reported that intrabladder treatment with Gemzar® (gemcitabine) is more effective than Mutamycin® (mitomycin C) for the treatment of recurrent bladder cancer.[1] The details of this randomized trial were published early online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on October 19.
Despite standard treatment, many patients with superficial bladder cancer experience a recurrence of their cancer. Following the removal of the cancer, patients with superficial bladder cancer are usually treated with adjuvant intravesical therapy with mitomycin C or Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Although this therapy is beneficial, recurrences are common: more than 50% of patients have recurrent disease.
This study included 130 patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer who were randomly allocated to receive intravesical treatment with Gemzar or Mutamycin. The median follow-up was 36 months. Seventy-two percent of patients receiving Gemzar remained free of disease compared with 61% of patients receiving Mutamycin. The incidence of chemical cystitis was higher in Mutamycin-treated patients. These authors stated, “This study demonstrates that GEM [Gemzar] has better efficacy and lower toxicity than MMC [Mutamycin]; therefore, GEM appears as a logical candidate for intrabladder therapy in patients with refractory transitional cancer.”
Comments: These data suggest that Gemzar is effective and well tolerated for treatment of recurrent superficial bladder cancer.
Reference:
[1] Addeo R, Caraglia M, Bellini S, et al. Randomized phase III trial on gemcitabine versus mytomicin in receurrent superficial bladder cancer: Evaluation of efficacy and tolerance. Journal of Clinical Oncology [early online publication]. October 19, 2009.
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