Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, TUR and radiotherapy in T2-T4 NO MO bladder carcinoma

– Forty patients affected by locally advanced carcinoma of the bladder were submitted to up-front chemotherapy followed by TUR and radiotherapy. A complete response was obtained in 27 patients (67.5%). A residual mass was present in 13 (32.5%) patients. At a mean follow-up of 38 months (range: 18–112 months), 7 patients showed a recurrence that was superficial in 3 cases and infiltrating the muscular layer in 4. Fifteen patients (37.5%), 12 of whom disease-free, are alive with a mean survival of 65 months. Five more patients died of non-related disease.