How Is Bladder Cancer Treated?

Your stage of bladder cancer will determine the method your physician recommends for treating your illness. The primary ways of attacking bladder cancer are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (drugs).

More recently, though, drugs have been developed or are under development to stimulate your body's own defense system to attack and destroy bladder cancer cells. In addition, different combinations of therapy, such as new drugs, may help prevent the return of cancer in your body.

A variety of factors ultimately influence a person's decision to receive a certain treatment for cancer. All treatments have benefits and risks. You and your doctor should carefully balance the potential benefits of any cancer treatment with its potential risks.

Your physician will work with you to choose the best treatment for your bladder cancer based on:

• Your age, overall health, and medical history
• Extent of the disease
• Grade and stage of the cancer
• Your tolerance of specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the disease
• Your opinion or preference

After the bladder cancer is diagnosed and staged, your physician will recommend a treatment plan. Treatment may include:

• Bladder surgery - Surgery is the main treatment for bladder cancer. Transurethral resection (TUR) is the most common type of surgery for early-stage and superficial bladder cancer. In this procedure, the urologist places a resectoscope (thin lighted tube) into the bladder and removes the tumor using a wire loop at the end of the resectoscope, or by burning the tumor off with laser or electricity. If you have a large tumor or several cancerous areas, you might have a radical cystectomy, an operation to remove the bladder, surrounding tissues, and any lymph nodes (small bean-shaped collections of immune system cells that help fight infections) and nearby organs that contain cancer.
• Radiation therapy - Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
• Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancerous cells. In most cases, chemotherapy works by stopping cancer cells from growing or reproducing. Different types of chemotherapy drugs work in different ways to fight cancer cells.
• Immunotherapy - Immunotherapy, also known as biologic therapy, causes the body's own natural defenses (immune system) to attack the bladder cancer. Immunotherapy is usually used after transurethral resection (TUR) for superficial bladder cancer to help prevent the cancer from coming back.

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.