Kamat - Figure 11
BCG Therapy versus Radical Cystectomy for Non-muscle-invasive (NMI) Bladder Cancer
FIG. 11: Radical cystectomy provides the best reduction in risk of recurrence and progression for patients who have high-grade NMI bladder cancer after BCG therapy; this fact is not in dispute. Physicians should recognize, however, that in many cases radical cystectomy is overtreatment, and this overtreatment has major functional implications for our patients, because of the morbidity and mortality associated with the procedure.
The key and the purpose of this presentation is to understand the various risk categories of tumors that recur after BCG therapy and how we can better select treatment options for these patients and potentially avoid radical cystectomy. In order to do this, we have to understand certain key points about BCG therapy. Although BCG therapy has been used for more than 4 decades, it is often misunderstood.
