Bladder Cancer Overview

What`s new in bladder cancer research?

Genetic changes in bladder cancer

In the past 10 years, scientists have learned a lot about how cancer cells differ from normal cells. Some changes in the DNA of bladder cancers have been found. Now they are working to find out if the tests that find the DNA changes are useful in finding bladder cancers that come back after treatment. Other studies are aimed at deciding whether these tests can help predict the course of the disease. This information may be useful in choosing treatments.

Prevention

People who have had one bladder cancer that has been treated are at risk for having a new cancer in the urinary tract (the bladder, lining of the kidneys, ureters, and urethra). Studies to see if certain vitamins or minerals could reduce the risk of a second cancer are going on now. Another study is looking at the effect of the drug celecoxib (Celebrex®) on that risk. Researchers are also looking for a vaccine to help lower the risk of a second cancer.

Treatments

Photodynamic therapy (PTD)

PDT is a new method that may be useful in treating early stages of bladder cancer. A chemical is put into the blood. It collects in the tumor over a few days. Then a special type of laser light is focused on the cancer. This light changes the chemical so that it can kill cancer cells. One drawback is that this method only works for cancers near the surface of the bladder. The advantage is that PDT does very little harm to normal cells. The use of this treatment is still being studied.

Chemo

A number of chemo drugs are being tested as treatment for bladder cancer. Some of these are already used to treat other types of cancer.

Anti-angiogenesis drugs

Drugs which kill cancers by stopping their blood supply (these are called anti-angiogenesis drugs) have been shown to work against colorectal cancer and kidney cancer. Some of them are now being tested in patients with bladder cancer.

Targeted therapies

Researchers are learning more about the parts of bladder cancer cells that control their growth and spread in order to develop new drugs called targeted therapies. Some of these drugs have been found to be useful in other cancers, such as lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Studies are being done to test these drugs against bladder cancer.

Gene therapy

Gene therapy is another new method being tested for bladder cancer. One of these methods uses special viruses that have been changed in the lab. The changed virus is put into the bladder and infects the bladder cancer cells. When this happens, the virus puts a gene into the cancer cell that may help the immune system to attack it.