COMPLETE TITLE: Sequential combination of mitomycin C plus bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is more effective but more toxic than BCG alone in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in intermediate- and high-risk patients: Final outcome of CUETO 93009, a randomizedprospective trial
BACKGROUND: Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is an effective therapy in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), but it has limitations in terms of recurrence and toxicity.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the sequential combination of mitomycin C (MMC) and BCG is superior to BCG alone in increasing a disease-free interval (DFI).
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a prospective randomized trial including 407 patients with intermediate- to high-risk NMIBC and allocated 211 to the MMC and BCG arm and 196 to the BCG-alone arm.
OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The trial was designed to provide concurrently a power of 80% for the detection of a relative risk reduction of 35% (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.65) of disease relapse with a type I error of 0.05. Times to events were estimated using cumulative incidence functions and compared using the Cox regression model. We used the Kaplan-Meier technique to estimate survival curves.
RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: In the intention-to-treat analysis at 5 yr, DFI was significantly improved by the sequential scheme (HR: 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.83; p=0.003), reducing the disease relapse rate from 33.9% to 20.6%. Higher toxicity was observed with the combination, even reducing the MMC dose, especially in G3 local toxicity compared with BCG with a difference of 17.4% (95% CI, 7.6-27.2; p< 0.001). In recurrent T1 tumors, the potential benefit of the sequential scheme was more evident than in the remaining subgroup (18.8% vs 12.8%), with a number needed to treat of five versus eight to avoid an event and with similar toxicity.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the sequential scheme is more effective than BCG alone in reducing disease relapse, due to higher toxicity it could be offered only to patients with a high likelihood of recurrence, such as those with recurrent T1 tumors.
PATIENT SUMMARY: We analyzed the outcomes of a randomized trial demonstrating that in intermediate- to high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, mitomycin C and bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) reduced disease relapse compared with BCG alone but was more toxic. Consequently, it could be offered only to patients with recurrent T1 tumors.
Written by:
Solsona E, Madero R, Chantada V, Fernandez JM, Zabala JA, Portillo JA, Alonso JM, Astobieta A, Unda M, Martinez-Piñeiro L, Rabadan M, Ojea A, Rodriguez-Molina J, Beardo P, Muntañola P, Gomez M, Montesinos M, Martinez Piñeiro JA. Are you the author?
Institution(s): See publishing journal.
Reference: Eur Urol. 2014 Oct 6. pii: S0302-2838(14)00963-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2014.09.026
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25301758