Preoperative irradiation and cystectomy for bladder cancer.

Between 1971 and 1974, 101 patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center underwent planned integrated treatment for bladder cancer with 2000 rads by megavoltage delivered to the whole pelvis over five consecutive days followed by radical cystectomy within a week. The overall five-year survival rate was 39%; the hospital mortality rate was 2%. In the pelvis alone tumor recurred in 9% of the patients. These results support other studies demonstrating the efficacy of this and other regimens of preoperative irradiation and cystectomy.