Recurrence of Superficial Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder Following Transurethral Resection Plus Intravesical Therapy: Bacillus

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy vs. chemotherapy (mitomycin-C, epirubicin, and thiotepa) in superficial bladder cancer after transurethral transection of a bladder tumor (TUR-BT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with superficial bladder can-cer between September 1995 and October 2004. In total, 146 patients were eligible for our analysis. Intravesical therapy after TUR-BT was arranged. Recurrence, progression, survival rates, and adverse events were analyzed. RESULTS: In the BCG group, 16.3 % of patients experienced recurrences within 2 years compared to 18.8 % in the chemotherapy group (p = 0.715). The overall progression rate was 7.5%. The overall and cancer-specific mortality rates at 5 years were 32.4 % and 2.9%, respectively. More adverse events were found in the BCG group (18.3%) than in the chemotherapy group (12.1%) (p = 0.294). CONCLUSION: We failed to show the superiority of intravesical BCG immunotherapy over chemotherapy in prevent-ing recurrence of or mortality from superficial bladder cancer. In addition, intravesical BCG immunotherapy provoked more adverse events than did chemotherapy. (JTUA 19:222-7, 2008) Key words: transitional cell carcinoma, intravesical therapy, bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Case Analyse