Randomized Phase III Study Comparing Paclitaxel/Cisplatin/Gemcitabine and Cisplatin/Gemcitabine in Patients With Metastatic or Locally Advanced Urothelial Cancer Without Prior Systemic Therapy

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare the duration of survival of patients with stage IV transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium treated with cisplatin and gemcitabine with or without paclitaxel.
• Compare the duration of progression-free survival, response rates, and duration of response in patients treated with these regimens.
• Compare the toxicity of these regimens in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, open-label, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to participating center, WHO performance status (0 vs 1), and presence of metastatic disease (yes vs no). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms.

• Arm I: Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15 and cisplatin IV over 1 hour on day 1 or 2. Treatment repeats every 28 days for a maximum of 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
• Arm II: Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on days 1 and 8 followed by cisplatin IV over 1 hour 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.

Patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for at least 3 years.