Mount Sinai investigators have developed a new approach for treating invasive bladder cancer without the need for surgical removal of the bladder, according to a study published in Nature Medicine in September. Removing the bladder is currently a standard approach when cancer has invaded the muscle layer of the bladder.
In a phase 2 clinical trial that was the first of its kind, doctors found that some patients could be treated with a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy without the need to remove their bladder. Surgical removal of the bladder can be curative in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, but the procedure can have profound effects on a patient’s quality of life.
