The Current State of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

• Main Author: Oktay Üçer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Medical Journal 2016-04-01
• Series: European Medical Journal Urology
• Subjects: Bladder Cancer; muscle-invasive; Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC); Radical Cystectomy
• Online Access: http://emjreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Current-State-of-Neoadjuvant-Chemotherapy-for-Muscle-Invasive-Bladder-Cancer.pdf

Radical cystectomy with extended pelvic lymph node dissection is the gold standard for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Despite this definitive surgery, patients face a recurrence rate of approximately 50% 5 years after surgery. This high recurrence rate may be related to micrometastatic disease at the time of the surgery. Although the data to support adjuvant chemotherapy for treatment of these patients are insufficient, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) that includes cisplatin-based combination therapy for MIBC is recommended by the guidelines. This article reviews the current situation in NAC for the treatment of MIBC.