Factores de riesgo de enfermedad residual en la re-RTU en una gran cohorte de pacientes con enfermedad T1G3 / Risk factors for residual disease at re-TUR in a large cohort of T1G3 patients

Introducción y objetivos: Los objetivos de la resección transuretral (RTU) del tumor vesical son la resección completa de las lesiones y la realización de un diagnóstico correcto con el objetivo de estadificar adecuadamente al paciente. Es bien sabido que la presencia de músculo detrusor en el espécimen es un requisito previo para minimizar el riesgo de infraestadificación.La persistencia de enfermedad tras la resección de los tumores vesicales no es infrecuente, y es la razón por la que las guías europeas recomiendan una re-resección transuretral (re-RTU) para todos los tumores T1. Recientemente se ha publicado que, en los casos con inclusión de músculo en el espécimen, la re-RTU no afecta la progresión ni la supervivencia específica del cáncer.Presentamos aquí los factores relacionados con el paciente y el tumor que pueden influir en la presencia de enfermedad residual en la re-RTU.Material y métodosDe nuestra cohorte retrospectiva de 2.451 pacientes con tumores T1G3 primarios tratados inicialmente con bacilo de Calnette-Guérin (BCG), están disponibles los resultados patológicos de 934 pacientes (38,1%) que se sometieron a una re-RTU. El 74% tenía tumores multifocales, el 20% de los tumores tenía más de 3 cm de diámetro y el 26% tenía carcinoma in situ (CIS) concomitante. En este subgrupo de pacientes que se sometieron a una segunda RTU, no hubo enfermedad residual en 267 pacientes (29%) y se presentó enfermedad residual en 667 pacientes (71%): Ta en 378 (40%) y T1 en 289 (31%) pacientes. Se analizaron la edad, el sexo, el estado del tumor (primario/recurrente), la terapia intravesical previa, el tamaño del tumor, la multifocalidad del tumor, la presencia de CIS concomitante y la inclusión de músculo en el espécimen para evaluar los factores de riesgo de enfermedad residual en la re-RTU, tanto en los análisis univariantes, como en las regresiones logísticas multivariantes. (AU)

Introduction and objectives: The goals of transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR) are to completely resect the lesions and to make a correct diagnosis in order to adequately stage the patient. It is well known that the presence of detrusor muscle in the specimen is a prerequisite to minimize the risk of under staging.Persistent disease after resection of bladder tumors is not uncommon and is the reason why the European Guidelines recommended a re-TUR for all T1 tumors. It was recently published that when there is muscle in the specimen, re-TUR does not influence progression or cancer specific survival.We present here the patient and tumor factors that may influence the presence of residual disease at re-TUR.Material and methodsIn our retrospective cohort of 2451 primary T1G3 patients initially treated with BCG, pathology results for 934 patients (38.1%) who underwent re-TUR are available. 74% had multifocal tumors, 20% of tumors were more than 3 cm in diameter and 26% had concomitant CIS.In this subgroup of patients who underwent re-TUR, there was no residual disease in 267 patients (29%) and residual disease in 667 patients (71%): Ta in 378 (40%) and T1 in 289 (31%) patients. Age, gender, tumor status (primary/recurrent), previous intravesical therapy, tumor size, tumor multi-focality, presence of concomitant CIS, and muscle in the specimen were analyzed in order to evaluate risk factors of residual disease at re-TUR, both in univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regressions. (AU)

Risk factors for residual disease at re-TUR in a large cohort of T1G3 patients.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The goals of transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR) are to completely resect the lesions and to make a correct diagnosis in order to adequately stage the patient. It is well known that the presence of detrusor muscle in the specimen is a prerequisite to minimize the risk of under staging. Persistent disease after resection of bladder tumors is not uncommon and is the reason why the European Guidelines recommended a re-TUR for all T1 tumors. It was recently published that when there is muscle in the specimen, re-TUR does not influence progression or cancer specific survival. We present here the patient and tumor factors that may influence the presence of residual disease at re-TUR. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our retrospective cohort of 2451 primary T1G3 patients initially treated with BCG, pathology results for 934 patients (38.1%) who underwent re-TUR are available. 74% had multifocal tumors, 20% of tumors were more than 3 cm in diameter and 26% had concomitant CIS. In this subgroup of patients who underwent re-TUR, there was no residual disease in 267 patients (29%) and residual disease in 667 patients (71%): Ta in 378 (40%) and T1 in 289 (31%) patients. Age, gender, tumor status (primary/recurrent), previous intravesical therapy, tumor size, tumor multi-focality, presence of concomitant CIS, and muscle in the specimen were analyzed in order to evaluate risk factors of residual disease at re-TUR, both in univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regressions. RESULTS: The following were not risk factors for residual disease: age, gender, tumor status and previous intravesical chemotherapy. The following were univariate risk factors for presence of residual disease: no muscle in TUR, multiple tumors, tumors > 3 cm, and presence of concomitant CIS. Due to the correlation between tumor multi-focality and tumor size, the multivariate model retained either the number of tumors or the tumor diameter (but not both), p < 0.001. The presence of muscle in the specimen was no longer significant, while the presence of CIS only remained significant in the model with tumor size, p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The most significant factors for a higher risk of residual disease at re-TUR in T1G3 patients are multifocal tumors and tumors more than 3 cm. Patients with concomitant CIS and those without muscle in the specimen also have a higher risk of residual disease.

C-MYC, HIF-1α, ERG, TKT, and GSTP1: an Axis in Prostate Cancer?

To analyze putative biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCA) characterization, the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in men. Quantification of the expression level of c-myc and HIF-1α was performed in 72 prostate cancer specimens. A cohort of 497 prostate cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was further analyzed, in order to test our hypothesis. We found that high c-myc level was significantly associated with HIF-1α elevated expression (p = 0.008) in our 72 samples. Statistical analysis of 497 TCGA prostate cancer specimens confirmed the strong association (p = 0.0005) of c-myc and HIF-1α expression levels, as we found in our series. Moreover, we found high c-myc levels significantly associated with low Glutatione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) expression (p = 0.01), with high Transketolase (TKT) expression (p < 0.0001). High TKT levels were found in TCGA samples with low GSTP1 mRNA (p < 0.0001), as shown for c-myc, and with ERG increased expression (p = 0.02). Finally, samples with low GSTP1 expression displayed higher ERG mRNA levels than samples with high GSTP1 score (p < 0.0001), as above shown for c-myc. Our study emphasizes the notion of a potential value of HIF-1α and c-myc as putative biomarkers in prostate cancer; moreover TCGA data analysis showed a putative crosstalk between c-myc, HIF-1α, ERG, TKT, and GSTP1, suggesting a potential use of this axis in prostate cancer.

Predictors of oncological outcomes in T1G3 patients treated with BCG who undergo radical cystectomy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the oncological impact of postponing radical cystectomy (RC) to allow further conservative therapies prior to progression in a large multicentre retrospective cohort of T1-HG/G3 patients initially treated with BCG. METHODS: According to the time of RC, the population was divided into 3 groups: patients who did not progress to muscle-invasive disease, patients who progressed before radical cystectomy and patients who experienced progression at the time of radical cystectomy. Clinical and pathological outcomes were compared across the three groups. RESULTS: Of 2451 patients, 509 (20.8%) underwent RC. Patients with tumors > 3 cm or with CIS had earlier cystectomies (HR = 1.79, p = 0.001 and HR = 1.53, p = 0.02, respectively). Patients with tumors > 3 cm, multiple tumors or CIS had earlier T3/T4 or N + cystectomies. In patients who progressed, the timing of cystectomy did not affect the risk of T3/T4 or N + disease at RC. Patients with T3/T4 or N + disease at RC had a shorter disease-specific survival (HR = 4.38, p < 0.001), as did patients with CIS at cystectomy (HR = 2.39, p < 0.001). Patients who progressed prior to cystectomy had a shorter disease-specific survival than patients for whom progression was only detected at cystectomy (HR = 0.58, p = 0.024) CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with RC before experiencing progression to muscle-invasive disease harbor better oncological and survival outcomes compared to those who progressed before RC and to those upstaged at surgery. Tumor size and concomitant CIS at diagnosis are the main predictors of surgical treatment while tumor size, CIS and tumor multiplicity are associated with extravesical disease at surgery.

Recurrence, progression and cancer-specific mortality according to stage at re-TUR in T1G3 bladder cancer patients treated with BCG: not as bad as previously thought.

PURPOSE: The goals of transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR) are to completely resect the lesions and to make a correct diagnosis to adequately stage and treat the patient. Persistent disease after TUR is not uncommon and is why re-TUR is recommended in T1G3 patients. When there is T1 tumor in the re-TUR specimen, very high risks of progression (82%) have been reported. We analyze the risks of recurrence, progression to muscle-invasive disease and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) according to tumor stage at re-TUR in T1G3 patients treated with BCG. METHODS: In our retrospective cohort of 2451 T1G3 patients, 934 patients (38.1%) underwent re-TUR. 667 patients had residual disease (71.4%): Ta in 378 (40.5%), T1 in 289 (30.9%) patients. Times to recurrence, progression and CSM in the three groups were estimated using cumulative incidence functions and compared using the Cox regression model. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 512 patients recurred. The recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients with a T1 at re-TUR (P < 0.001). Progression rates differed according to the pathology at re-TUR, 25.3% in T1, 14.6% in Ta and 14.2% in case of no residual tumor (P < 0.001). Similar trends were seen in both patients with and without muscle in the original TUR specimen. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with T1G3 tumors and no residual disease or Ta at re-TUR have better recurrence, progression and CSM rates than previously reported, with a CSM rate of 13.1 and a 25.3% progression rate in re-TUR T1 disease.

Natural history of human papillomavirus infection in non-vaccinated young males: low clearance probability in high-risk genotypes.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the clearance of type-specific genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in heterosexual, non-HPV-vaccinated males whose female partners were positive to HPV DNA tests. All consecutive men attending the same sexually transmitted diseases (STD) centre between January 2005 and December 2006 were considered for this study. All subjects (n = 1009) underwent a urologic visit and microbiological tests on first void, midstream urine and total ejaculate samples. One hundred and five patients were positive for HPV DNA (10.4 %; mean age: 34.8 ± 5.8 years) and consented to clinical examination and molecular diagnostic assays for HPV detection scheduled every 6 months (median surveillance period of 53.2 months). HPV genotypes were classified as high risk, probable high risk and low risk. HPV-positive samples which did not hybridise with any of the type-specific probes were referred to as positive non-genotypeable. At enrollment, the distribution of HPV genotypes was as follows: high-risk HPV (n = 37), probable high-risk HPV (n = 6), low-risk HPV (n = 23) and non-genotypeable HPV (n = 39). A high HPV genotype concordance between stable sexual partners emerged (kappa = 0.92; p < 0.001). At the end of the study, 71/105 (67.6 %) subjects were negative for HPV (mean virus clearance time: 24.3 months). With regard to the HPV genotype, virus clearance was observed in 14/37 (37.8 %) high-risk HPV cases, 6/6 (100 %) probable high-risk HPV cases, 20/23 (86.9 %) low-risk HPV cases and 31/39 (79.5 %) non-genotypeable cases. The high-risk HPV genotypes showed the lowest rate and probability of viral clearance (p < 0.001). In our series, high-risk HPV infections were more likely to persist over time when compared with other HPV genotypes.

The clinical use of statistical permutation test methodology: a tool for identifying predictive variables of outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the predictive variables affecting the outcome after radical surgery for bladder cancer by a newer statistical methodology, i.e. nonparametric combination (NPC). METHODS: A multicenter study enrolled 1,312 patients who had undergone radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in 11 Italian oncological centers from January 1982 to December 2002. A statistical analysis of their medical history and diagnostic, pathological and postoperative variables was performed using a NPC test. The patients were included in a comprehensive database with medical history and clinical and pathological data. Five-year survival was used as the dependent variable, and p values were corrected for multiplicity using a closed testing procedure. The newer nonparametric approach was used to evaluate the prognostic importance of the variables. All of the analyses were performed using routines developed in MATLAB© and the significance level was set at α = 0.05. RESULTS: A significant prognostic predictive value (p < 0.01) for tumor clinical staging, hydronephrosis, tumor pathological staging, grading, presence of concomitant carcinoma in situ, regional lymph node involvement, corpora cavernosa invasion, microvascular invasion, lymphatic invasion and prostatic stroma involvement was found. CONCLUSIONS: The NPC test could handle any type of variable (categorical and quantitative) and take into account the multivariate relation among variables. This newer methodology offers a significant contribution in biomedical studies with several endpoints and is recommended in presence of non-normal data and missing values, as well as solving high-dimensional data and problems relating to small sample sizes.

Clinical and microbiological efficacy of prulifloxacin for the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis infection: results from a prospective, randomized and open-label study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of a 14-day course of prulifloxacin 600 mg with standard antibiotic therapy for the treatment of chronic prostatitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection. All patients with clinical and instrumental diagnosis of bacterial chronic prostatitis (CP) due to Ct infection were enrolled. After randomization, all patients were administered oral prulifloxacin 600 mg once daily for 14 days or doxycycline 100 mg orally twice daily for 21 days. At enrollment and 30 days after beginning treatment, all patients underwent microbiological cultures for uropathogens bacteria and yeasts, DNA extraction and mucosal IgA evaluation for Ct diagnosis, seminal plasma IL-8 evaluation and serum IgA and IgG anti-Ct analysis. The National Institutes of Health - Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) was given to each patient. A total of 109 patients received prulifloxacin and 102 received standard therapy. Prulifloxacin had clinical efficacy rates equivalent to standard therapy (82.5% vs. 79.9%) (P = 0.08) and showed superior microbiological efficacy rates compared to standard therapy, in terms of decreasing mucosal IgA (P < 0.001) and IL-8 levels (P < 0.001). Prulifloxacin was also equivalent to standard therapy for clinical success, as demonstrated by a decrease in the number of patients affected by CP due to Ct infection.

14-day prulifloxacin treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis in women with recurrent urinary tract infections: a prospective, open-label, pilot trial with 6-month follow-up.

Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) are very common in otherwise healthy young women, and can have a very negative social and economic impact. In order to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of a 14-day course of prulifloxacin orally administered once daily, 51 young female patients, attending the same STD center between may and June 2007 for symptoms of cystitis, with a history of recurrent UTI and urine culture positive for uropathogens, were enrolled in this prospective study. Microbiological and clinical efficacy was tested over three follow-up visits at 1, 3 and 6 months. Quality of life (QoL) was measured and the impact of prulifloxacin in modifying the Lactobacillus vaginal flora was also evaluated. At baseline, the pathogens most commonly isolated were Enterococcus faecalis (43.2%) and Escherichia coli (27.5%). 41 of the 51 women, (80.3%) had Lactobacillus spp. in vaginal samples at baseline. microbiological results at follow-up examinations were as follows: after 1 month, 47 patients were recurrence-free and 4 had recurrence; after 3 months, 41 were recurrence-free, while 6 reported recurrence; finally, after 6 months, 36 were recurrence-free and 5 had recurrence. A statistically significant difference was reported between the QoL questionnaire mean scores at baseline (0.63), 1 (0.77), 3 (0.77) and 6 months (0.78) after treatment (all p<0.001). the vaginal swab cultures demonstrated that Lactobacillus spp. flora was maintained in 38 out of the 41 (92.6%) patients who had positive vaginal swab sample at baseline. in conclusion, a 14-day administration of prulifloxacin 600 mg is a safe, well tolerated and effective treatment for the management of UTI in young women.

[Chronic prostatitis and biofilm]. / Prostatiti croniche e biofilm.

Nowadays, inflammatory prostatic diseases represent one of the main social and economic problems that affect male gender in our country. The disease's prevalence is estimated at 11-14% in European countries, and males aged between 20 and 50 years are the most affected subjects. Bacterial prostatitis is documented at a very low prevalence (7-13% of prostatitis overall considered) due to either reduced utilization of viral and bacteriological tests (Meares test, urethral swab, bacterial and viral PCR) or to the possibility that individual patients show a scarce expression of bacterial disease in biological fluids, because of intraglandular biofilm presence, with subsequent spreading of the sole plankton microrganisms. Actually, the presence of a biofilm may possibly represent the reason for difficult diagnoses and ineffective antibacterial treatments.

[Endocavitary prophylaxis of superficial urothelial bladder tumours: new compounds].

Bladder urothelial carcinoma is the fourth most frequent cancer among European men, accounting for about 7% of the total cancers. Transurethral resection (TUR) is usually indicated as the standard treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, TUR is unable to guarantee a complete eradication of Ta, T1 tumors with a recurrence rate ranging from 50 to 70%, and a progression rate to muscle invasive disease ranging from 10 to 15%. METHODS. The European Association of Urology guidelines recommend adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy after definitive diagnosis of intermediate/high risk NMIBC to reduce both recurrence and progression of the disease. To provide a comprehensive review of intravesical treatment options for NMIBC, we performed a search of the PubMed database for articles between 1980 and 2009 that reported on intravesical agents for treating this disease. RESULTS. A critical analysis of the findings resulting from large multicenter trials, phase I, II, III studies for pertinent novel agents and from review articles was carried out. We focused on the following issues: 1) the role of the treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and the need of maintaining the drug schedule (with or without interferon- alpha); 2) the correct timing of adjuvant immuno- and chemotherapy; 3) the use of the novel chemotherapeutic agents; 4) the use of the novel technique of chemotherapeutic agents administration, with a particular interest on electromotive administration of mitomycin.

Epidemiology and risk factors in urolithiasis.

Stone formation in the urinary tract affects about 5-10% of the population in industrialized countries, although it is very rare in other countries such as Greenland or Japan. The high incidence and recurrence rate contribute to making the urolithiasis a serious social problem. Nowadays, urolithiasis must be considered a 'disease in evolution' for several reasons, such as epidemiological changes, evolution of the methods used for diagnosis, and the treatment and prophylaxis of the population considered 'at risk' of stone disease. Some features of stone disease have changed over the last few years due to many social, economical and cultural factors that are described here. The increased prevalence of small urinary calculi has brought about a change in clinical symptoms, with frequent episodes of renal-ureteral colic, persistent pain and hydronephrosis. Similarly, the presence of residual fragments after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy has induced a radical change in the management of small calculi through the use of mini-invasive surgical techniques.

[Antibacterial prophylaxis in endourological procedures]. / La profilassi antibatterica nelle manovre endourologiche.

AIM: Antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of postsurgical infections is a common practice in urologic surgery, as well as in endourologic procedures, both in at risk patients (local or systemic risk factors: age, immunological status, metabolic disorders, poor general conditions) or with a positive urine culture, but also in patients with urine previously sterile. As Gram-negative strains are the most common pathogens, it is reasonable to use a quinolone or a beta-lactam. METHODS: One-hundred and thirty-one patients (range 21-89 years) underwent transurethral cystoscopy (52 cases), vesical catheterism (44 cases), extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (17 cases) and transrectal prostatic biopsy (18 cases). An antimicrobial prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin 500 mg (22 patients, 16.8%), levofloxacin 500 mg (54 patients, 41.2%) and prulifloxacin 600 mg (55 patients, 42%) was administered. RESULTS: Globally, the incidence of urinary tract infections during 15 days after surgery was 8.4% (11 cases out of 131): ciprofloxacin 9.1%, levofloxacin 11.1% and prulifloxacin 5.5%, respectively. The patients compliance with the prophylactic treatment was good or excellent in 122 cases (93.1%) and poor in 9 cases (6.9%). No major differences between antibiotics used in prophylaxis were detected, keeping into account the limited size of the global population and subgroups defined by the endourological procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Prulifoxacin, with a broad antimicrobial spectrum, favourable pharmacokinetic properties and easy to use, can be considered a valid and well tolerated therapeutic option for the antibacterial prophylaxis in endourological procedures, both in hospital and in outpatient setting.

Giant stone in enterocystoplasty.

A giant stone in enterocystoplasty is a very rare condition; only 5 cases have been reported in the literature. A 50-year-old female with an enterocystoplasty due to congenital myelomeningocele presented at our institution for an asymptomatic 10-cm bladder stone, incidentally detected during an imaging procedure for uterine fibroma. The patient was treated with a laparoscopic hysterectomy with bilateral annexectomy, neocystotomy and stone removal under general anesthesia. The case report and an accurate literature review are reported. The incidence, risk factors, pathophysiology and treatment options are analyzed.

Quality of life after radical treatment of prostate cancer: validation of the Italian version of the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index.

OBJECTIVES: To validate an Italian version of the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI). METHODS: Men with prostate cancer treated with radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) or external beam radiation (EBR) were retrospectively selected. Each subject was asked to complete the UCLA-PCI short form and the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) questionnaires (principal sample); a subgroup completed both questionnaires twice (retest sample). A linguistic translation and validation was performed. Psychometric properties were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 595 men were included in the study: 394 from the Department of Urology (treated with RRP) and 201 from the Department of Radiotherapy (treated with EBR). Of these, 75 patients (50 from the RRP group and 25 from the EBR group) were selected as the retest cohort. Internal consistency reliability of the SF-36 and UCLA-PCI for the primary sample of the surgery and radiotherapy populations ranged from 0.82 to 0.94; the mean values of sexual function were superior in the principal urology group, whereas the principal radiotherapy group demonstrated superior mean values of urinary function and urinary bother. A strong correlation between urinary function and sexual and bowel function, and between urinary function and all bother scales, was reported only for patients treated with RRP. The expected correlation between sexual function and sexual bother was reported for the EBR group but not for the RRP group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the excellent psychometric properties of the Italian version of the UCLA-PCI; the Italian version of the UCLA-PCI questionnaire will allow cross-cultural comparative studies in men with prostate cancer.

Weekly paclitaxel and epirubicin in the treatment of symptomatic hormone-refractory advanced prostate carcinoma: report of a phase II trial.

The efficacy of weekly paclitaxel in androgen-independent prostate cancer and its addictive cytotoxicity with anthracycline derivatives led us to determine the safety and efficacy of a weekly schedule of paclitaxel and epirubicin. Between October 2000 and November 2002, 32 patients were enrolled in this study. Patients characteristics included a median age of 72 years (range 68-77), adequate hepatic, cardiac, renal and bone marrow functions, ECOG performance status of 1-2, and no prior chemotherapy. All patients had received hormonal manipulation and seven patients (22%) had received prior palliative radiation therapy. The regimen consisted of paclitaxel 70 mg/m2 i.v. infusion for 2 h and epirubicin 30 mg/m2 in bolus every week. Treatment was continued for 3 months or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity were observed. During the study, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was monitored and response was defined as a 50% reduction in PSA levels, to be confirmed 4 weeks later. Thirty-one patients were evaluable for toxicity and 21 for objective response. Seventeen patients (57%) had a decline above 50% in PSA level that lasted more than 4 weeks with a median time to PSA progression and a median duration of PSA response of approximately 5.5 months. Ten of the 21 patients with measurable disease (47%) had a confirmed objective response (one complete response and 20 partial responses). Thirteen of 25 symptomatic patients (56 %) had improvement in pain. The median time to disease progression was 7.6 months and the median survival was 12.9. The most prominent grade 3 toxicities were reversible myelosuppression and fatigue. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and peripheral edema were minimal. No evidence of cardiac toxicity was recorded. Alopecia was frequent, but reversible, in all patients. We conclude that despite the small sample size, this study demonstrates that the combination of weekly paclitaxel and epirubicin is a well-tolerated regimen for androgen-independent prostate cancer. The results imply that a combination of these agents in a weekly schedule may have clinical potential in prostate cancer treatment.