Abstract
The present phase II trial was undertaken to assess the efficacy and toxicity of a combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium. Twenty patients (age range 50-79 years; inclusion criteria: WHO performance status 0-2, no previous cytotoxic treatment) with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium were recruited and received cytotoxic treatment with paclitaxel at a dosage of 175 mg m(-2) administered over a 3-h infusion and carboplatin given at an AUC of 5 mg ml(-1) min (according to creatinine clearance) administered every 21 days. A total of 65% of patients achieved remissions (CR+PR), with CR occurring in 40% of patients. A further 15% of patients experienced stable disease. Remissions occurred after 2.4 +/- 0.8 (mean +/- standard deviation; range two to four) treatment cycles. The mean duration of responses (CR+PR) was 8.5 +/- 5.5 months. After a mean observation period of 11.4 +/- 4.8 months, 16 patients (80%) are alive. Toxicity included alopecia of WHO grade 3 in all patients, leucopenia of WHO grades 1 and 2 in ten patients, grade 3 in eight and grade 4 in two patients and, finally, severe thrombocytopenia grade 3 in only three patients. Non-haematological toxicity consisted of polyneuropathy of WHO grade 1 in 13 patients and grade 2 in five patients. We thus conclude that a combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin at the given dosage and schedule constitutes an active, well-tolerated first-line cytotoxic treatment for patients with metastatic urothelial cancer.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zielinski, C., Schnack, B., Grbovic, M. et al. Paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer: results of a phase II trial. Br J Cancer 78, 370–374 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.501
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.501
This article is cited by
-
Current chemotherapeutic strategies against bladder cancer
International Urology and Nephrology (2012)
-
Combination therapy consisting of gemcitabine, carboplatin, and docetaxel as an active treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma
International Journal of Clinical Oncology (2011)
-
Onkologische Therapie des Harnblasenkarzinoms
Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift (2007)
-
Gemcitabine and docetaxel as first-line treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma: a phase II study
British Journal of Cancer (2005)
-
Systemische Therapie des fortgeschrittenen Urothelkarzinoms
Der Onkologe (2005)