OBJECTIVES: A Nordic collaborative group assessed the effectiveness of cisplatinum based combination chemotherapy prior to cystectomy in two consecutive trials. We analyzed overall survival in all patients and in prespecified subgroups defined by preoperative T-stage, gender and age. METHODS: The studies included in 1985-1997 620 patients with clinically T1G3, T2-T4aNXM0 urothelial bladder cancer and WHO performance