Cisplatin-based chemotherapy, after surgery, should be considered for muscle invasive bladder cancer
18 Feb 2022
Research has found that cisplatin-based chemotherapy, given after surgery prolongs the lives of those with muscle-invasive bladder cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body (non-metastatic). These results have been published in European Urology.
Until now, the effects of giving chemotherapy after surgery people with bladder cancer that has spread to the surrounding muscle were not clear. Our prior systematic review and meta-analysis based on individual participant data (IPD) from randomised trials, was limited by the number and size of the included trials. The results have been updated to include more than double the number of participants
Published by the Advanced Bladder Cancer (ABC) Meta-analysis Collaborators Group, the IPD meta-analysis includes data on 1183 participants from 10 trials and provides the most up-to-date and reliable evidence of the effects of this treatment. It shows that 56 out of 100 participants who received chemotherapy before surgery were alive at 5 years compared to 50 out of 100 who received surgery alone. These benefits were apparent irrespective of age of the participants, tumour stage or the type of chemotherapy. Also, more people were alive without disease recurrence at 5 years (63 out of 100 compared to 50 out of 100).
Sarah Burdett, Senior Research Scientist at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL said “It is great to see that these updated results clearly show a benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This allows a greater choice of treatments, depending on circumstances and clinician and patient preference. Thanks to all participants who took part in the trials and contributed to this research. The meta-analysis would not have been possible without their participation or without the collaborating institutions that provided their trial data”.
This systematic review and meta-analysis, based on updated individual participant data, demonstrates that cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy is a valid option for improving outcomes for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
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