Intravesical mitomycin C (MMC) instillations are recommended to prevent recurrence of intermediate-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (IR-NMIBC); however, the optimal regimen and dose are uncertain. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of adjuvant MMC and compare different MMC regimens in preventing recurrence.
We performed a comprehensive search in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in November 2023 for studies investigating recurrence-free survival (RFS) among patients with IR-NMIBC who received adjuvant MMC. Prospective trials with different MMC regimens or other intravesical drugs as comparators were considered eligible.
Overall, 14 studies were eligible for systematic review and 11 for meta-analysis of RFS. Estimates of 1-yr, 2-yr, and 5-yr RFS rates were 84% (95% confidence interval [CI] 79-89%), 75% (95% CI 68-82%), and 51% (95% CI 40-63%) for patients treated with MMC induction plus maintenance, and 88% (95% CI 83-94%), 78% (95% CI 67-89%), and 66% (95% CI 57-75%) for patients treated with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) maintenance, respectively. Estimates of 2-yr RFS rates for MMC maintenance regimens were 76% (95% CI 69-84%) for 40 mg MMC (2 studies) and 66% (95% CI 60-72%) for 30 mg MMC (4 studies). Among the studies included, BCG maintenance provided comparable 2-yr RFS to 40 mg MMC with maintenance (78% vs 76%). RFS did not differ by MMC maintenance duration (>1 yr vs 1 yr vs <1 yr).
MMC induction and maintenance regimens seem to provide short-term RFS rates equivalent to those for BCG maintenance in IR-NMIBC. For adjuvant induction and maintenance, 40 mg of MMC appears to be more effective in preventing recurrence than 30 mg. We did not observe an RFS benefit for longer maintenance regimens.
For patients with intermediate-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, bladder treatments with a solution of a drug called mitomycin C (MMC) seem to be as effective as BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guérin) in preventing recurrence after tumor removal. Further trials are needed for stronger evidence on the best MMC dose and treatment time.
European urology oncology. 2024 Jun 19 [Epub ahead of print]
Pietro Scilipoti, Aleksander Ślusarczyk, Mario de Angelis, Francesco Soria, Benjamin Pradere, Wojciech Krajewski, David D'Andrea, Andrea Mari, Francesco Del Giudice, Renate Pichler, José Daniel Subiela, Luca Afferi, Simone Albisinni, Laura Mertens, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Keiichiro Mori, Piotr Radziszewski, Shahrokh F Shariat, Andrea Necchi, Evanguelos Xylinas, Paolo Gontero, Morgan Rouprêt, Francesco Montorsi, Alberto Briganti, Marco Moschini, European Association of Urology Young Academic Urologists Urothelial Carcinoma Working Group
Department of Experimental Oncology, Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy., Department of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland., Division of Urology, Department of Surgical Sciences, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, University of Studies of Torino, Turin, Italy., Department of Urology UROSUD, La Croix Du Sud Hospital, Quint-Fonsegrives, France., Department of Urology and Oncologic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy., Department of Maternal Infant and Urologic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I Hospital, Rome, Italy., Department of Urology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria., Department of Urology, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain., Department of Urology, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland., Department of Urology, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy., Department of Urology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Department of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic., Department of Urology, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital, AP-HP, Université de Paris, Paris, France., Urology, GRC no. 5, Predictive Onco-Urology, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France., Department of Experimental Oncology, Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: .