A phase II study of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin in advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder - Abstract

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is recommended for use as first-line treatment for patients with advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Unfortunately, 30-50 % of patients are ineligible for cisplatin due to renal insufficiency. Oxaliplatin is a less nephrotoxic platin which can be used for patients with impaired renal function. We carried out a phase II study of gemcitabine (1,200 mg/m2) in combination with oxaliplatin (100 mg/m2) given on days 1 and 14 every 28 days (GEMOX) in predominantly cisplatin-'unfit' stage IV transitional cell bladder cancer patients to determine whether this combination exhibited a clinical activity profile similar to cisplatin plus gemcitabine. Eighteen patients with a median GFR of 49 ml/min were enrolled. GEMOX treatment led to a 36 % response rate in assessable patients. Median progression-free survival was 4.9 months, with a median overall survival (OS) of 10.4 months and a one-year survival rate of 44.4 %. GEMOX in bladder cancer patients exhibited a tolerable side effects profile, with thrombocytopenia as the most frequent grade 3/4 toxicity. These findings suggest that GEMOX is an active combination in advanced bladder cancer patients with reduced renal function.

Written by:
Eroglu Z, Fruehauf JP.   Are you the author?
Department of Medicine, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine, 101 The City Drive South, Orange, CA, USA.

Reference: Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2013 May 1. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1007/s00280-013-2178-x


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23636451

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