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Treatment for bladder cancer

There are many different types of treatment for bladder cancer. Your treatment will depend on you and your cancer.

Treatment for bladder cancer will depend on a number of things such as your type of bladder cancer, your medical history and personal preferences for treatment.

Treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer include: 1

Surgery

a procedure known as a transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) can be done which removes or destroys the tumour via inserting a tube with a camera in the urethra (where your urine comes out). This procedure is done under general anaesthetic and takes approximately 30 minutes.

Chemotherapy

uses drugs to kill the cancer cells by inserting a catheter (soft tube) directly into the bladder via the urethra (called intravesical chemotherapy).

Immunotherapy

via the use of a vaccine (known as Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)) which was once used to treat tuberculosis, can increase the body’s natural immune system to stop the growth of the cancer cells in the bladder.

Treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer include: 2

Surgery

the removal of the whole bladder is a common surgical treatment in cases where the cancer has spread to the muscle.

Chemotherapy

involves the use of specific drugs to kill the cancer cells. Chemotherapy to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer usually involves intravenous therapy (drugs given by injection into the vein). This type of chemotherapy is known as systemic. 

Radiation therapy

can be used instead of surgery to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer. It can also be used at the same time as chemotherapy to help maximise treatment outcomes.

Bladder cancer research at Icon

Our research centre at Icon offers Australia the largest private clinical trials program in cancer research. Clinical trials specific to bladder cancer research can be found here.

Icon’s collaborative approach to clinical trial research not only enables continual advancement and breakthroughs in bladder cancer research, but also enables the most up to date treatment options are available to all patients regardless of health insurance.

References

For a full list of references, click here.
  1. Cancer Council. (2018). Treatments for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Retrieved on 1st May 2019 from https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/bladder-cancer/non-muscle-invasive-treatment/
  2. Cancer Council. (2018). Treatments for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Retrieved on 1st May 2019 from https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/bladder-cancer/muscle-invasive-treatment/

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