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Kwak, Choi, and Chung: The Comparison of the Efficacy and Side Effects between M-VAC and GC Chemotherapy for Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Patients with a Good Performance Status
Original Article
Korean Journal of Urology

Korean Journal of Urology 2007; 48(12): 1229-1235.

Published online: 31 December 2007

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4111/kju.2007.48.12.1229

The Comparison of the Efficacy and Side Effects between M-VAC and GC Chemotherapy for Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Patients with a Good Performance Status

Hosup Kwak, Sunghyup Choi, Jae-il Chung

Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Inje University, Busan, Korea.

Corresponding author (prosdoc@hanmail.net)

Received 31 July 2007       Accepted 23 October 2007

Copyright © 2007 The Korean Urological Association

Abstract

Purpose

We wanted to compare the efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapy with methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin, cisplatin (M-VAC) versus gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) for patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Materials and Methods

Forty-nine patients diagnosed with advanced urothelial cell carcinoma and who were started on chemotherapy were divided into two groups. All of them had a 0-1 Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. 19 patients received M-VAC chemotherapy and 30 patients received the GC regimen. Among them, the subjects who completed more than 3 cycles of their recommended formula (13/19 for M-VAC, 28/30 for GC) were included in this study. They were evaluated for their overall response rate, the 5-year survival rate, toxicities and the drop-out rate.

Results

The overall response rate and median survival period of the M-VAC and G-C groups were 38% (5/13 cases) and 46% (13/28 cases), and 16.7 months and 43.9 months, respectively. The 5-year survival rates in the two groups were 10% in the M-VAC group and 46% in the G-C treated group (p=0.013). The main hematologic complication was leukopenia and this occurred in 10/19 patients and more than grade 3 leukopenia was noted in 4/10 patients in the M-VAC group and in 19/30 patients and more than grade 3 was noted in 10/19 patients in the GC group. The common non-hematologic side effects between the two groups were nausea/vomiting (84.2% vs 47.7%), alopecia (47.4% vs 26.7%), diarrhea (15.8% vs 16.7%), and nephrotoxicity (15.8% vs 6.7%), respectively. The drop-out rates were 31.6% in the M-VAC group and 6.7% with the GC group.

Conclusions

For patients with a good performance status with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, GC chemotherapy is more effective and it has more tolerable toxicities than does the M-VAC regimen.

Keywords: Urothelial carcinoma, Chemotherapy, Efficacy, Toxicity

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
5-year survival graph according to methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin, cisplatin (M-VAC) and gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) chemotherapy.
kju-48-1229-g001
Fig. 2
Overall survival graph according to the cancer site. (A) upper urinary tract, (B) lower urinary tract. GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin.
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Table 1
Baseline patient characteristics
kju-48-1229-i001

M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin, GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, TUR-BT: transurethral resection of bladder tumor

Table 2
Schedule of each of the combination chemotherapy regimens
kju-48-1229-i002

M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin, GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, The unit of dosage: mg/m2

Table 3
Response to each of the combination chemotherapy regimens
kju-48-1229-i003

M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin, GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, 5YSR: 5 year survival rate, *: p=0.013. compared to 5 year survival rate of GC with M-VAC

Table 4
Response rate to each of the chemotherapy regimens according to the cancer site
kju-48-1229-i004

M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin, GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, *: p-value of median survival period of each group

Table 5
Toxicities of chemotherapy
kju-48-1229-i005

M-VAC: methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin and cisplatin, GC: gemcitabine and cisplatin, *: WHO grade 3 classified for hematologic toxicity is WBC 1,000-2,000/mm3 or neutrophil count 500-1,000/mm3, platelet 25,000-50,000/mm3

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