Background: The object of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the ATP sensitivity assay for appropriate selection of anticancer drugs for prophylactic bladder instillation therapy in patients with superficial bladder cancer.
Methods: The ATP assay was performed using the method reported previously. The anticancer drugs examined were ADM, MMC, THP-ADM and EPI. The 5-year rate of non-recurrence in group A (32 cases) which had been treated using the results of ATP assay, was compared with that of group B (37 cases), for which the ATP assay was not performed.
Results: The most sensitive anticancer drug was THP-ADM. The 5-year rate of non-recurrence in group A (80.9%) was significantly higher than that in group B (39.4%) (p < 0.001). Tumor recurrences in group A was observed within 2 years post-operatively in all cases. When the ATP assay was re-performed in 3 cases with recurrent disease, altered antitumor sensitivity was observed.
Conclusion: These findings suggested that ATP assay was useful for choosing effective anti-cancer drugs for prophylactic instillation, especially for patients with primary or solitary tumor, grade 2 disease or tumor of a certain size (> or = 1 cm). It also appeared that the ATP assay should be performed for patients with primary superficial bladder cancer as a screening test for the selection of drugs for prophylactic instillation therapy.