Adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced carcinoma of the upper urinary tract: a study by the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group

Abstract

Purpose: Radical surgery represents the treatment of choice for carcinoma of the upper urinary tract. Nevertheless, approximately 50% of patients with stage T >/= 3 or lymph node involvement die from their disease, mainly as a result of the development of distant metastases. Therefore, there is a need for effective adjuvant systemic treatment. We prospectively studied a cohort of patients who underwent surgery for high-risk carcinoma of the upper urinary tract to assess the feasibility of the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin as adjuvant treatment.

Patients and methods: Thirty-six patients with tumor stage >/= 3 or lymph node involvement were treated with four cycles of paclitaxel at 175 mg/m(2) and carboplatin (area under the curve 5, Calvert Formula) every 3 weeks following surgery.

Results: Median follow-up was 40.6 months. Chemotherapy was well tolerated with 32 patients (89%) receiving full carboplatin and paclitaxel doses without delays. The most frequent grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia (39%), which was complicated with fever in only one case (3%). Nonhematologic grade 3 or 4 toxicities were reported in only one case. Five-year survival was 52% (95% CI, 35% to 69%), while 5-year disease-free survival was 40.2% (95% CI, 15.8% to 64.6%). Local failure rate was 30%, as opposed to 17% of patients who developed distant metastases. No patients with grade 2 tumors relapsed during follow-up, as opposed to 60% of patients with grade 3 tumors.

Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin is feasible and may reduce the risk of distant metastases in high-risk upper urinary tract carcinoma.