Combined chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin for metastatic urothelial carcinomas in patients 80 years of age and over

• Published in: Anticancer research 2010-09, Vol.30 (9), p.3839-3843
• Main Authors: Tanji, Nozomu, Fukumoto, Tetsuya, Miura, Noriyoshi, Yanagihara, Yutaka, Azuma, Kouji, Sasaki, Toyokazu, Nishida, Takayasu, Kikugawa, Tadahiko, Shimamoto, Kenji, Aoki, Katsunori, Yokoyama, Masayoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell - mortality; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Cisplatin - adverse effects; Deoxycytidine - administration & dosage; Deoxycytidine - adverse effects; Deoxycytidine - analogs & derivatives; Female; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Retrospective Studies; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - drug therapy; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - mortality
• ISSN: 1791-7530

This retrospective study aimed to determine the efficacy and toxicity of a combined chemotherapeutic regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) for the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinomas (UCs) in patients 80 years of age and over. Twelve patients who were at least 80 years old and had been diagnosed with metastatic UC were treated with GC. The patient cohort consisted of 9 men and 3 women, with a median age of 83 (range 80-84) years. The median follow-up was 54 (range 14-80) months. Five out of the 12 patients (42%) showed an objective response, with two achieving a clinically complete response and three a partial response with GC. The median time to progression was 6 months, and the median overall survival was 14 months. The grade 3 and 4 toxicities of the regimen were primarily hematological, including anemia (33%), neutropenia (58%), and thrombocytopenia (50%). No grade 3 or 4 non-hematological toxicities were found. GC appears to be an effective and well-tolerated regimen for the treatment of metastatic UCs in very old patients.