Over the last seven years, M-VAC combination chemotherapy has been used for: the treatment of transitional cell carcinoma with metastases (palliative indication) or to reduce operable T4a tumours (inductive, initial or preliminary indication), or before or after t for bladder cancers (neoadjuvant and adjuvant indications). The authors present their experience of 17 cases of stage T4a transitional cell carcinoma transformed into an operable stage by M-VAC. Those patients with regression of the tumour to a non-invasive stage at operation (patients with a good response) had a good prognosis. In contrast those patients with residual invasive tumour all died from their disease. A prospective comparative study was performed between total cystectomy alone and cystectomy completed by adjuvant M-VAC in patients with a worrying histology. This study was based on 49 cases up until December 1990. A significant improvement in the prognosis was observed in patients receiving adjuvant M-VAC. The recurrence-free survival was considerably prolonged in this second group (study suspended in November 1992). When metastases developed, palliative M-VAC only rarely prolonged survival.