Five-year follow-up results of a collaborative study of therapies for carcinoma of the bladder

Abstract

Results after 5 yr of follow-up in a cooperative trial of therapies for operable bladder cancer confirmed preliminary indications of a beneficial effect of preoperative irradiation. Improved survival was experienced by 1/3 of the irradiated patients who experienced complete eradication of the tumor as indicated from the resected specimen 30-60 days after a 30 day course of 4500 rads. These patients had a 55% chance of surviving 5 yr as opposed to a 32% chance for those where irradiation did not eradicate the tumor, or similarly for those not irradiated. A postoperative course of chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracial appeared to act detrimentally when given to patients irradiated preoperatively, but may have had a slight benefit when given after surgery alone.