Prospective randomized phase II trial of a single early intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP) in the prevention of bladder recurrence after nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma: The THP Monotherapy Study Group Trial - A

PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy of a single early intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP) in the prevention of bladder recurrence after nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC).

Patients and Methods: From December 2005 to November 2008, 77 patients clinically diagnosed with UUT-UC from 11 institutions participating in the Tohoku Urological Evidence-Based Medicine Study Group were preoperatively enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive or not receive a single instillation of THP (30 mg in 30 mL of saline) into the bladder within 48 hours after nephroureterectomy. Cystoscopy and urinary cytology were repeated every 3 months for 2 years or until the occurrence of first bladder recurrence.

Results: Seventy-two patients were evaluable for efficacy analysis, 21 of whom had a subsequent bladder recurrence. Significantly fewer patients who received THP had a recurrence compared with the control group (16.9% at 1 year and 16.9% at 2 years in the THP group v 31.8% at 1 year and 42.2% at 2 years in the control group; log-rank P = .025). No remarkable adverse events were observed in the THP-treated group. Based on multivariate analysis, THP instillation (hazard rate [HR], 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.91; P = .035) and open surgery (HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.84; P = .024) were independently predictive of a reduced incidence of bladder recurrence.

CONCLUSION: In this prospective randomized phase II study, a single intravesical instillation of THP seemed to reduce bladder recurrence after nephroureterectomy. A phase III, large-scale, multicenter study is needed to confirm these observations.

Written by:
Ito A, Shintaku I, Satoh M, Ioritani N, Aizawa M, Tochigi T, Kawamura S, Aoki H, Numata I, Takeda A, Namiki S, Namima T, Ikeda Y, Kambe K, Kyan A, Ueno S, Orikasa K, Katoh S, Adachi H, Tokuyama S, Ishidoya S, Yamaguchi T, Arai Y.   Are you the author?
Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine; Sendai Shakai Hoken Hospital; Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai; Sen-en General Hospital, Tagajo; Miyagi Cancer Center, Natori; Osaki Citizen Hospital, Osaki; Koichi Kambe, Senseki Hospital, Higashimatsushima; Shirakawa Kosei General Hospital, Shirakawa; Kesennuma City Hospital, Kesennuma; Ogachi Central Hospital, Yuzawa; Iwate Prefectural Iwai Hospital, Ichinoseki; and Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital, Iwaki, Japan.

Reference: J Clin Oncol. 2013 Mar 4. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1200/JCO.2012.45.2128


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23460707

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