[Combination therapy consisting of gemcitabine, docetaxel and carboplatin as a second-line chemotherapy for patients with MVAC-treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma].

From 2001 to 2006, 11 patients with MVAC-treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma received as a second-line therapy GDC therapy consisting of gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m2) on day land 8, docetaxel (80 mg/m2) on day 1 and carboplatin (AUC 5) on day 1 in each 21-day cycle. The 11 patients received a total of 42 cycles. The median progression-free survival and the median overall survival were 3 months (range 0-51) and 10 months (range 2-51), respectively. The median overall survival from diagnosis of the metastasis was 13.0 months (range 7-55). Complete response and partial response rates were 1/11 (9%) and 5/11 (45%), respectively. One- and two-year survival rates were 36 and 9%, respectively. Grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicity included neutropenia (69.0%), thrombocytopenia (47.6%) and anemia (45.2%). Non-hematologic toxicity of grade 3 or 4 consisted mainly of diarrhea (23.8%) and anorexia (21.4%). GDC regimen as a second-line chemotherapy was effective in 54% of patients with MVAC-treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma, although the high incidence of hematologic toxicities and short period of progression-free survival remain to be major problems.