Protocol for Assessment of Gemcitabine and Paclitaxel for Metastatic Urothelial Cancer in Patients Aged 70 Years or Older (and in a Cohort of Patients Younger Than 60 Years)
Protocol for Assessment of Gemcitabine and Paclitaxel for Metastatic Urothelial Cancer in Patients Aged 70 Years or Older (and in a Cohort of Patients Younger Than 60 Years)
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.
PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining gemcitabine and paclitaxel in treating patients who have advanced or recurrent cancer of the urinary tract.
OBJECTIVES:
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to age (70 and over vs under 60).
Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours on day 1 and gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8. Treatment repeats every 21 days for a maximum of 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Quality of life is assessed at baseline.
Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months for 2 years.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 80 patients (60 age 70 and over and 20 under age 60) will be accrued for this study.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
Histologically confirmed urothelial cancer
Previously untreated metastatic or locoregionally advanced (i.e., bulky pelvic nodes) disease OR
Locally recurrent carcinoma after radiotherapy or cystectomy and no longer eligible for further radiotherapy or surgery
Measurable disease
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
Age:
Performance status:
Life expectancy:
Hematopoietic:
Hepatic:
Renal:
Other:
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
Biologic therapy:
Chemotherapy:
Endocrine therapy:
Radiotherapy:
Surgery:
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