EFFICACY OF ONE-YEAR MAINTENANCE IN EARLY ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY FOR INTERMEDIATE RISK NON-MUSCLE- INVASIVE BLADDER CANCER. RESULTS AT 24 MONTHS OF A RANDOMIZED TRIAL

1704 EFFICACY OF ONE-YEAR MAINTENANCE IN EARLY ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY FOR INTERMEDIATE RISK NON-MUSCLEINVASIVE BLADDER CANCER. RESULTS AT 24 MONTHS OF A RANDOMIZED TRIAL Vincenzo Serretta*, Vincenzo Altieri, Giuseppe Morgia, Darvinio Melloni, Maria Karidi, Pasquale Annese, Giuseppe Carrieri, Maurizio Cacciatore, Nino Dispensa, Alessandra Di Lallo, Giovanni Ruggiero, Federico Nicolosi, Mauro Iadevaia, Francesco Vacirca, Francesco Paolo Selvaggi, Rosalinda Allegro. Palermo, Italy, Napoli, Italy, Messina, Italy, Matera, Italy, Foggia, Italy, Partinico (PA), Italy, Campobasso, Italy, Telese Terme (BN), Italy, Catania, Italy, Maddaloni (CE), Italy, Caltanissetta, Italy, and Bari, Italy. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The clinical value of early intravesical adjuvant chemotherapy after TUR of intermediate risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMI TCCB) is well established. On the other hand, the optimal schedule regimen and the role of maintenance are still debated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of one-year maintenance schedule in patients submitted to TUR plus adjuvant early intravesical chemotherapy for intermediate risk NMI TCCB. METHODS: Between May 2002 and August 2003, 577 patients, were recruited. All patients underwent TUR and early (within 6 hours) intravesical chemotherapy with epirubicin at the dose of 80 mg diluted in 60 ml of saline solution. When histology was available, 95 patients were excluded from the study since they were harbouring T1G3, Tis or single and primary Ta G1-G2 tumors. Four hundred eighty-two