Objective: To assess the feasibility and safety of two novel methods for intravesical chemotherapy administration in patients suffering from superficial bladder carcinomas. To draw preliminary considerations concerning the ablative effect on marker lesion using novel approaches compared to standard intravesical chemotherapy.
Methods: Eighty patients suffering from single, recurrent, low-stage, low-grade superficial bladder tumor entered a prospective nonrandomized study. Thirty-six of them were treated by means of mitomycin C instillation as a standard procedure. In 29 patients mitomycin C solution was administered in combination with local microwave-induced hyperthermia and in 15 patients the mitomycin C solution was administered according to the electromotive drug procedure. The treatment was scheduled as a short term neo-adjuvant regimen prior to transurethral resection. Feasibility and safety of the different procedures were evaluated on an outpatients basis. The local toxicity induced by different approaches was defined and compared using a subjective questionnaire.
Results: Both intravesical chemotherapy administered in combination with hyperthermia and according to the electromotive drug technique appeared to be feasible and safe. Local toxicity induced by thermo-chemotherapy was more severe than that registered for electromotive drug technique and standard intravesical chemotherapy. Local toxicity was always short and self healing without early or delayed major complications. A higher complete response rate on marker lesion was observed after thermo-chemotherapy compared to other administration methods.
Conclusion: The intravesical administration of mitomycin C can be safely performed in the form of both thermo-chemotherapy and electromotive drug approach with an increased ablative success rate on small superficial tumor involving only minimal local side effects.