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Long‐term survival under maintenance gemcitabine chemotherapy for metastatic transitional cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
LEHMANN JAN,
RETZ MARGITTA,
SIEMER STEFAN,
SCHREIER ULRICH,
ZWERGEL ULRIKE,
STÖCKLE MICHAEL
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international journal of urology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1442-2042
pISSN - 0919-8172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-2042.2006.01471.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gemcitabine , transitional cell carcinoma , chemotherapy , cisplatin , oncology , renal pelvis , urothelial cancer , adjuvant chemotherapy , urology , cancer , kidney , bladder cancer , breast cancer
We report a case of a 74‐year‐old patient who received 41 courses of maintenance therapy with gemcitabine over a length of 28 months for metastatic transitional cell carcinoma. One year earlier the patient had received three cycles of adjuvant cisplatin‐based combination chemotherapy after nephro‐ureterectomy for a locally advanced urothelial cancer of the right renal pelvis. This case demonstrates a paradigm shift in the palliative treatment of advanced urothelial cancer, with the implementation of more tolerable agents such as gemcitabine. Even elderly patients with impaired renal function may benefit in terms of tumor reduction and survival from systemic chemotherapy, which may be applied over a prolonged period of time.