title: Combination of intravesical chemotherapy and hyperthermia for the treatment of superficial bladder cancer: preliminary clinical experience.
abstract: The prevalence of superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (STCCB) is still increasing in spite of improved adjuvant chemotherapeutic and/or immunoprophylaxis approaches. Thus, there is certainly an urgent need to improve our ability to control this disease. Local hyperthermia has a therapeutical potential for the treatment of many solid tumors, especially when used in combination with other treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy. In particular, a synergistic or, at least, supra-additive anti-tumor cell killing effect was documented when local hyperthermia was administered in combination with selected cytostatic drugs. Recently, advances in miniaturized technology have allowed the development of a system specifically designed for delivering an endovesical thermo-chemotherapy regimen in humans. In preliminary clinical experiences, insofar mainly carried out as mono-institutional investigations, the combined treatment using this system was demonstrated to be feasible, minimally invasive and safe when performed on out-patient basis. Moreover, the anti-tumoral efficacy seemed to be significantly enhanced when compared with that obtained using intravesical chemotherapy alone for both adjuvant (prophylaxis) and neo-adjuvant (ablative) approaches to superficial bladder cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Vita-Salute University, Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 60, Milan 20132, Italy. renzo.colombo@hsr.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salonia
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Da Pozzo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naspro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freschi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paroni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pavone-Macaluso
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rigatti
mesh_terms: D000283:Administration, Intravesical; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents