A 1-year maintenance after early adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy has a limited efficacy in preventing recurrence of intermediate risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of 1-year maintenance after a 6-week cycle of early intravesical chemotherapy, as the role of maintenance in intravesical chemotherapy is debated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between May 2002 and August 2003, 577 patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMI-BC) underwent transurethral resection (TUR) and early intravesical chemotherapy (epirubicin, 80 mg/50 mL). They were randomized between a 6-week induction cycle and the induction cycle plus maintenance with 10 monthly instillations. In all, 95 patients with T1G3, Tis or single and primary Ta-T1 G1-G2 tumours were excluded; 482 patients at intermediate risk of recurrence continued the study.…