Effectiveness of an Immediate Postoperative Intravesical Instillation With Either Gemcitabine or Epirubicin in Patients With Urinary Bladder Cancer (Gemcitabine Epirubicin Normal SAline)

NCT ID: NCT04947059

Last Updated: 2022-01-26

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: PHASE3
• Total Enrollment: 180 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-12-14
• Study Completion Date: 2026-10-31

Brief Summary

The natural history of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is characterised by recurrence and progression. We compare the effectiveness of gemcitabine hydrochloride and epirubicin hydrochloride, in combination with continuous saline irrigation, as an immediate single intravesical instillation in the potential reduction of the disease recurrence as well as progression.

Detailed Description

Bladder cancer (BLCa) is the seventh most commonly diagnosed cancer in the male population worldwide, while it drops to tenth when both genders are considered. At diagnosis about 75% of the patients suffer from non-muscle-invasive BLCa. The natural history of this disease is characterised by recurrence and progression. In order to reduce the possibilities for recurrence, and therefore progression, an immediate single intravesical instillation (ISIVI) of a chemotherapeutic agent has been shown to act by destroying circulating tumour cells after transurethral resection of urinary bladder tumors (TURB), and by an ablative effect on residual tumour cells at the resection site and on small overlooked tumours. Several agents, among them gemcitabine and epirubicin, have been used for the ISIVI so far. Moreover, four large meta-analyses comprising 1,476 to 3,103 patients have consistently shown that after TURB, ISIVI significantly reduces the recurrence rate compared to TURB alone. Furthermore, two meta-analyses suggest efficacy of continuous saline irrigation (CSI) in the prevention of early recurrences. The prevention of tumour cell implantation should be initiated within the first few hours after TURB. After that, tumour cells are firmly implanted and are covered by the extracellular matrix. In all ISIVI studies, the instillation was administered within 24 hours. Until today, no randomised comparisons of individual drugs, combined or not with CSI, have been conducted.

After the initial TURB, the patients will be treated with CSI for 24 hours. Then, they will be randomised, either to gemcitabine or epirubicin, and within 6 hours after the TURB they will receive an ISIVI with gemcitabine or epirubicin, as follows:

• GROUP A: Gemcitabine hydrochloride 2gr in 100ml 0.9% NaCl for 45-60 minutes

• GROUP B: Epirubicin hydrochloride 50mg in 50ml 0.9% NaCl for 45-60 minutes

During the ISIVI the CSI will be stopped.

The ISIVI will not be applied in the following cases:

• Active bleeding, which does not allow to interrupt the CSI
• Postoperative fever > 38°C
• Deep resection of the tumor, which could be associated with bladder perforation and therefore potential extravasation of the administered drug
• Known allergy to gemcitabine or epirubicin

The postoperative follow-up for patients with disease stage pTis, Ta, T1 low grade (LG) / high grade (HG), will be done according to the Guidelines of the European Association of Urology (EAU) for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, as follows:

• 1st and 2nd year: Cystoscopy & cytological examination of urine every 3 months, CT Urography every 12 months for HG patients
• 3rd year: Cystoscopy & cytological examination of urine every 6 months, CT Urography every 12 months for HG patients

Conditions

Bladder Cancer

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Gemcitabine

Bladder cancer patients, who are treated with a transurethral resection of a bladder tumor, receive postoperatively, within 6 hours after the resection, an immediate single intravesical instillation with gemcitabine hydrochloride 2gr in 100ml of saline for 45-60 minutes and continuous saline irrigation for 24 hours

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Gemcitabine Hydrochloride combined with continuous saline irrigation

Intervention Type: DRUG

Immediate single intravesical instillation with gemcitabine combined with continuous saline irrigation in bladder cancer patients who are treated with a transurethral resection of the tumor

Epirubicin

Bladder cancer patients, who are treated with a transurethral resection of a bladder tumor, receive postoperatively, within 6 hours after the resection, an immediate single intravesical instillation with epirubicine hydrochloride 50mg in 50ml of saline for 45-60 minutes and continuous saline irrigation for 24 hours

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Epirubicin Hydrochloride combined with continuous saline irrigation

Intervention Type: DRUG

Immediate single intravesical instillation with epirubicin combined with continuous saline irrigation in bladder cancer patients who are treated with a transurethral resection of the tumor

Interventions

Gemcitabine Hydrochloride combined with continuous saline irrigation

Immediate single intravesical instillation with gemcitabine combined with continuous saline irrigation in bladder cancer patients who are treated with a transurethral resection of the tumor

Intervention Type: DRUG

Epirubicin Hydrochloride combined with continuous saline irrigation

Immediate single intravesical instillation with epirubicin combined with continuous saline irrigation in bladder cancer patients who are treated with a transurethral resection of the tumor

Intervention Type: DRUG

Other Intervention Names

GROUP A; GROUP B

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Primary urinary bladder tumor
• Secondary urinary bladder tumor (recurrence)
• Bipolar or monopolar resection
• Creat <2.2mg/dl
• 35% <Hct <52%
• White bloode cells count WBC ≥3000 / μL
• 75000 <PLT <500000 / μL
• Urine culture: negative / sterile
• Alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT: values as high as 2 times above the upper normal limit
• Good clinical condition (according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group PS ≤ 1)
• CT Urography without findings suggesting an upper urinary tract tumor in the last 3 months before the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor

Exclusion Criteria

• More than 2 low grade / high differentiation (low grade / LG) histologically confirmed bladder tumors in the last 18 months before the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor
• High grade / low differentiation (HG) histologically confirmed bladder tumor in the last 9 months before the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor
• Those who undergo a transurethral resection of a bladder tumor according to the Guidelines of the European Association of Urology for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: incomplete resection of tumor, absence of muscle fibers in the sample with the exception of: Ta / LG-G1, primary Cis and finally, pT1 tumors
• Intravesical instillation of chemotherapeutic agent or BCG in the last 6 months before the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor
• History of non-urothelial bladder cancer
• Stage of disease pT2 (muscle-invasive bladder cancer)
• Presence of a tumor in the urethra
• Upper urinary tract malignancy (present or anamnestically)
• History of pelvic radiotherapy
• Histrory of another malignancy in the last 5 years before the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 100 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Thessaly

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Vasileios Tzortzis

Professor of Urology

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Vasileios Tzortzis, Professor

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Urology Department, University of Thessaly, University Hospital of Larissa, Greece

Locations

Urology Department, University of Thessaly, University Hospital of Larissa

Larissa, Larissa/Thessaly, Greece

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Greece

Central Contacts

Vasileios Tzortzis, Professor

Role: CONTACT

urologydpt.uth@gmail.com

00302413502811

Lampros Mitrakas, Consultant

Role: CONTACT

lamprosmit@gmail.com

00302413501325

Facility Contacts

Vasileios Tzortzis, Professor

Role: primary

urologydpt.uth@gmail.com

00302413502811

Lampros Mitrakas, Consultant

Role: backup

lamprosmit@gmail.com

00302413501325

Other Identifiers

11006/28.04.2021

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id