Gemcitabine and Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Brain Metastases from Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder: A Case Report

Hematogenous metastases occur in over 50% of muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) of the bladder. Despite treatment (mostly surgery and radiotherapy), patients with brain metastases have an especially poor prognosis (median survival 2–5 months), making palliative treatment an important consideration. We followed a 60-year-old man with multiple brain metastases who was ultimately treated with gemcitabine chemotherapy. He underwent a cystectomy in 1997 because of a T3a N0 M0 G3 TCC of the bladder. Two years later, he developed one brain metastasis and one lung metastasis. Both metastases were resected and adjuvant chemotherapy was planned. Before chemotherapy, the patient suffered from headaches and symptoms of hemiparesis. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple brain metastases of up to 2 cm, particularly in the brain stem. The patient underwent whole-brain radiotherapy with 30 Gy, followed by four cycles of a 3-week gemcitabine (800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8) schedule. Another MRI showed a nearly complete response after four cycles of chemotherapy, with only small residual tumors remaining in the brain stem. This impressive activity was accomplished without adverse side effects, suggesting that radiotherapy combined with gemcitabine monotherapy may be an excellent choice for palliative treatment of TCC of the bladder.