OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the percentage of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder who are disease free or who have minimal disease 3 months after thorough transurethral resection (TURB) and escalated dose methotrexate/vinblastine/doxorubicin/cisplatin (M-VAC) chemotherapy. II. Evaluate the combination of thorough TURB and escalated dose M-VAC followed by radiotherapy with respect to bladder preservation for patients who respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. III. Evaluate the proportion of patients remaining disease free and not requiring cystectomy at 1 year. IV. Evaluate the feasibility and morbidity of this treatment schedule in multiple institutions applied by urologists of possibly varying endoscopic ability.