Treatment After Bladder Tumor Removal

Risks And Side Effects Of Cystectomy

The risks with any type of cystectomy are much like those with any major surgery. Problems during or shortly after surgery can include:

• Reactions to anesthesia
• Blood clots in the legs or lungs
• Damage to nearby organs
• Infection

Most people will have at least some pain after the operation, which can be controlled with pain medicines.

Risk Factors For Late Recurrence

While there dont seem to be many risk factors for early bladder cancer recurrence, there are a few risk factors for late recurrence of bladder cancer that have been noted in multiple studies. Multiple studies have shown that having a radical cystectomy at a younger age can be a risk factor for recurrence. Patients who have bladder cancer that is not confined to the bladder, or that has involvement in the surrounding muscle tissue may also be at risk for late recurrence, but there is a need for more studies to show a better correlation. Finally, bladder cancer that involves the prostate may also be at risk for a late recurrence.

Who Can Use Bcg

BCG is a treatment for early-stage bladder cancer that has not yet invaded the muscle of the bladder wall. Called non-muscle invasive bladder cancers or in situ bladder cancers, these account for about half of all bladder cancers.

For 2021, it was estimated that about 83,730 new cases of bladder cancer would be diagnosed in the United States, and about 17,200 American bladder cancer patients would die from the disease.

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Bladder Tumor: Cystoscopic Resection

The operation you have experienced is a “scraping” operation that is to say, the bladder tumor or biopsy sample was “scraped” off the bladder wall. Bleeding was controlled with electrocautery which will produce a “scab” in the inside bladder wall. About 1-2 weeks after the operation, pieces of the scab will fall off and come out with the urine. As this occurs, bleeding may be noted which is normal. You should not worry about this. Simply lie down and increase your fluid intake for a few hours. In most cases, the urine will clear. Because of this tendency for bleeding, aspirin must be avoided for 2 weeks following your operation . If bleeding occurs or persists for more than 12 hours or if clots appear impairing your stream, call your surgeon.

You will be given a prescription for antibiotics to be taken for about one week. This is to help prevent infection. If you develop a fever over 101°, or have chills, call your surgeon. Although not common, this may indicate infection that has developed beyond the control of the antibiotics that you have taken.

Finally, call our office one week after your surgery for the results of your biopsy and your next appointment.

Interim Analysis And Monitoring

Because this is a short-term study with a 2-year follow-up period, we will not conduct interim analysis. However, the safety of PDD-EBTUR will be independently evaluated by the Safety Monitoring Committee when:

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Transurethral Resection Of The Bladder Cancer Tumor

This is when the tumor is removed from the urinary tract through the urethra using an electrical force. Transurethral resection is an endoscopic or scope procedure that does not involve making an incision in the body.

Drug therapy after TUR is commonly prescribed for patients with large, multiple or high-grade tumors.

Bladder Cancer Clinical Trials

Major drug companies continually research and develop new medications and treatments for bladder cancer that must be shown to be safe and effective before doctors can prescribe them to patients. Through clinical trials, researchers test the effects of new drugs on a group of volunteers who have bladder cancer. Following a strict protocol and using carefully controlled conditions, researchers evaluate the investigational drugs under development and measure the ability of the new drug to treat bladder cancer, its safety, and any possible side effects.

Some patients are reluctant to take part in clinical trials for fear of getting no treatment at all. But patients who participate in clinical trials receive the most effective therapy currently available for the condition, or they may receive treatments that are being evaluated for future use. These bladder cancer drugs may be even more effective than current treatment. Comparing them in a clinical trial is the only way to find out.

Hereâs where to find information about whether a bladder cancer clinical trial is right for you.

This website lists industry-sponsored clinical trials that are actively recruiting patients.

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American Cancer Society: âBladder Cancer Treatment,â âBladder Cancer Surgery,â âRadiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer,â âChemotherapy for bladder cancer,â âFDA Approves New Immunotherapy Drug for Bladder Cancer,â âImmunotherapy for bladder cancer.â

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Transurethral Resection And Bladder Preservation

Transurethral resection is the most common type of surgery for bladder cancer. It is used to treat early-stage bladder cancer that has not grown into the muscle. The surgeon inserts a cystoscope through the urethra and into the bladder to remove any tumors. The tumors are then sent to a lab to be examined by a pathologist. The pathologist can help determine whether additional treatment may be needed. After the procedure, you can usually return home the same day or the next day.

TUR alone may be able to eliminate bladder cancer that has not grown into the muscle. However, we may recommend additional treatments to lower the risk of the cancer returning. These may include bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy or intravesical chemotherapy.

Intermediate Risk Early Bladder Cancer

People with intermediate-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer should be offered a course of at least 6 doses of chemotherapy. The liquid is placed directly into your bladder, using a catheter, and kept there for around an hour before being drained away.

You should be offered follow-up appointments at 3, 9 and 18 months, then once every year. At these appointments, your bladder will be checked using a cystoscopy. If your cancer returns within 5 years, you’ll be referred back to a specialist urology team.

Some of the chemotherapy medicine may be left in your urine after treatment, which could severely irritate your skin.

It helps if you sit down to urinate and that you’re careful not to splash yourself or the toilet seat. Always wash the skin around your genitals with soap and water afterwards.

If you’re sexually active, it’s important to use a barrier method of contraception, such as a condom. This is because the medicines may be present in your semen or vaginal fluids, which can cause irritation.

You also shouldn’t try to get pregnant or father a child while having chemotherapy for bladder cancer, as the medicines can increase the risk of having a child with birth defects.

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Clinical Trials To Improve Treatment

Your doctor might ask if youd like to take part in a clinical trial. Doctors and researchers do trials to make existing treatments better and develop new treatments.

• BMJ Best Practice. Bladder CancerD Lamm and others

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence , February 2015

• EAU Guidelines on Muscle-invasive and Metastatic Bladder CancerJ A Witjes and othersEuropean Association of Urology, 2017

• Bladder cancer: ESMO Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up J Bellmunt and others

Treating Bladder Cancer That Progresses Or Recurs

If cancer continues to grow during treatment or comes back after treatment , treatment options will depend on where and how much the cancer has spread, what treatments have already been used, and the patient’s overall health and desire for more treatment. Its important to understand the goal of any further treatment if its to try to cure the cancer, to slow its growth, or to help relieve symptoms as well as the likely benefits and risks.

For instance, non-invasive bladder cancer often comes back in the bladder. The new cancer may be found either in the same place as the original cancer or in other parts of the bladder. These tumors are often treated the same way as the first tumor. But if the cancer keeps coming back, a cystectomy may be needed. For some non-invasive tumors that keep growing even with BCG treatment, and where a cystectomy is not an option, immunotherapy with pembrolizumab might be recommended.

Cancers that recur in distant parts of the body can be harder to remove with surgery, so other treatments, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiation therapy, might be needed. For more on dealing with a recurrence, see Understanding Recurrence.

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Effects Of Cystectomy On Urination

Bladder surgery can affect how you pass urine. If you have had a partial cystectomy, this might be limited to having to go more often .

If you have a radical cystectomy, you’ll need reconstructive surgery to create a new way for urine to leave your body. Depending on the type of reconstruction, you might need to learn how to empty your urostomy bag or put a catheter into your stoma. Aside from these changes, urinary diversion and urostomy can also lead to:

• Infections
• Blockage of urine flow
• Absorption problems

The physical changes that come from removing the bladder and having a urostomy can affect your quality of life, too. Discuss your feelings and concerns with your health care team.

To learn a lot more about urostomies, see Urostomy Guide.

Liquid Biopsies May Aid Diagnosis Treatment Of Bladder Nerve Tumors

by Julia Evangelou Strait, Washington University School of Medicine

Blood and urine tests could lead to faster and less invasive methods to diagnose and monitor various types of tumors, new research indicates. Two studies led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis describe the potential of liquid biopsies to identify and track tumor growth in two very different cancers: bladder cancer and peripheral nerve tumors. Despite the differences between these cancers and their associated biopsies, the studies demonstrate the possible benefits of this relatively new tool in the fight against cancer.

Both studies appear in the Aug. 31 issue of PLOS Medicine, which is a special issue of the journal dedicated to liquid biopsies.

One study reports the development of a urine biopsy to monitor bladder cancer. With an easy to collect urine sample, doctors could determine whether the initial treatment eradicated the cancer or left some remnants of disease behind. That knowledge could lead to fewer patients undergoing unnecessary surgeries. The second study describes a blood biopsy to diagnose a tumor of the sheathor liningthat covers peripheral nerves. This rare cancer is caused by an inherited genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis type 1 . In patients with NF1, it is difficult to determine whether tumors developing in the nerve sheath are benign or malignant.

Explore further

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Doctor Visits And Tests

Your schedule of exams and tests will depend on the stage and grade of the cancer, what treatments youve had, and other factors. Be sure to follow your doctors advice about follow-up tests.

Most experts recommend repeat exams every 3 to 6 months for people who have no signs of cancer after treatment. These are done to see if the cancer is growing back or if there’s a new cancer in the bladder or urinary system. Your follow-up plan might include urine tests, physical exams, imaging tests , and blood tests. These doctor visits and tests will be done less often as time goes by and no new cancers are found.

• If your bladder hasnt been removed, regular cystoscopy exams will also be done every 3 months for at least the first 2 years.
• If you have a urinary diversion, you will be checked for signs of infection and changes in the health of your kidneys. Urine tests, blood tests, and x-rays might be used to do this. Your vitamin B12 will be checked at least once a year because urinary diversions made with your intestine can affect B12 absorption. Your doctor will also talk to you about how well you’re able to control your urine. Tests will be done to look for signs of cancer in other parts of your urinary tract, too.

Some doctors recommend other lab tests as well, such as the urine tumor marker tests discussed in Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early? Many of these tests can be used to help see if the cancer has come back, but so far none of these can take the place of cystoscopy.

Sexual Effects Of Radical Cystectomy In Women

This surgery often removes the front part of the vagina. This can make sex less comfortable for some women, though most of the time it’s still possible. One option is to have the vagina rebuilt . There’s more than one way to do this, so talk with your surgeon about the pros and cons of each method. Whether or not you have reconstruction, there are many ways to make sex more comfortable.

Radical cystectomy can also affect a womans ability to have an orgasm if the nerve bundles that run along each side of the vagina are damaged. Talk with your doctor about whether these nerves can be left in place during surgery.

If the surgeon takes out the end of the urethra where it opens outside the body, the clitoris can lose some of its blood supply, which might affect sexual arousal. Talk with your surgeon about whether the end of the urethra can be spared.

For more on ways to cope with these and other sexual issues, see Sex and the Woman With Cancer.

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Trans Urethral Removal Of Bladder Tumour

A trans urethral resection of bladder tumour is usually the first treatment you have for early bladder cancer.

Your surgeon removes the tumour in your bladder through the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of your body.

You might have TURBT to remove early bladder cancer:

• during a cystoscopy test if your specialist sees a tumour
• after having tests that have shown a bladder tumour

You usually have it under general anaesthetic, which means you are asleep. In some hospitals, you may have a spinal anaesthetic instead of a general anaesthetic. This is an injection into your spine so you cant feel anything from below your waist.

This treatment takes between 15 to 90 minutes.

Genetic Risk Assessment Program

The UCLA Genitourinary Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment Program focuses on investigation into the potential genetic causes of an individuals urologic cancer. Up to 5-10% of cancers are related to a genetic predisposition. If you have been diagnosed with a urologic cancer, UCLAs team has specific referral criteria to determine if you should pursue genetic risk assessment to evaluate for a genetic cause of cancer. For those at greatest risk, often this knowledge can more precisely tailor a treatment plan that is optimal for you.

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Treatment Of Bladder Cancer By Stage

Most of the time, treatment of bladder cancer is based on the tumors clinical stage when it’s first diagnosed. This includes how deep it’s thought to have grown into the bladder wall and whether it has spread beyond the bladder. Other factors, such as the size of the tumor, how fast the cancer cells are growing , and a persons overall health and preferences, also affect treatment options.

Transurethral Resection Of Bladder Tumour

This information is designed to help you, your family and friends prepare for your surgery. It will also help you plan how to take care of yourself in the weeks following discharge from hospital.

The bladder sits low within the pelvis and stores urine. It has two ureters that join to it from above, that transport urine from the kidneys. The urethra exits from the bottom of the bladder and through this, urine is passed to empty the bladder.

The Urologist has determined from the various tests you have had that it is likely that you have a bladder tumour and that surgical removal of the cancer is required.

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Removing The Whole Bladder

A radical cystectomy means taking out the whole bladder and the nearby lymph nodes.

In men, the surgeon also removes the prostate gland and glands that store semen . This is because bladder cancer can come back in this area. In women, the surgeon usually removes the womb and fallopian tubes. Sometimes the surgeon removes your ovaries and part of your vagina. Your surgeon talks this through with you beforehand.

You may also have part of your bowel removed. This is so your surgeon can create another way for your body to collect and pass urine. It’s called a recto sigmoid pouch. Your surgeon will discuss this with you beforehand if you’re having this operation.

Palliative Or Supportive Care

If your cancer is at an advanced stage and can’t be cured, your medical team should discuss how the cancer will progress and which treatments are available to ease the symptoms.

You can be referred to a palliative care team, who can provide support and practical help, including pain relief.

Page last reviewed: 01 July 2021 Next review due: 01 July 2024

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How Is Bladder Tumor Biopsy And Resection Performed

You may have general anesthesia for this procedure, which means youll be asleep for it. Some providers might use regional anesthesia, which means youll be awake. However, you wont feel any pain.

Bladder tumor biopsy and resection is performed when a doctor inserts a rigid instrument called a resectoscope into the bladder through the urethra. Inserting the resectoscope in this way means that no incisions are necessary.

Your provider will use the resectoscope to remove the tumor, which will be sent to a pathology lab for testing. Once the tumor is removed, your doctor will attempt to destroy any remaining cancer cells by burning the area using electric current by a process called fulguration or cauterization.

Your provider may decide to insert some type of chemotherapy medicine into the bladder using the scope. This is called intravesical chemotherapy. Your provider might suggest that you have maintenance intravesical chemotherapy for a period of time, meaning that you’ll have regular treatments.