Biomedical markers of response to intravesical bcg treatment in high-grade non-muscle invasive (pta and pt1) transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder

Abstract

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy is the main treatment for bladder high-grade non-muscle invasive transitional cell carcinoma (HGNMITCC) following initial resection. Unfortunately, about 30% of patients will not respond to treatment and they carry a high risk of disease progression. The alternative, radical cystectomy, has major risks with high morbidity and mortality. The ability to predict the response to BCG treatment would be a useful tool in the selection of appropriate treatment modalities. This study investigated a variety of detectable immune responses in blood and urine to establish if there were differences between responders and non-responders to BCG treatment. We evaluated whether there were detectable immunological differences in blood or urine that could explain or predict outcome.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton