Assessing treatment response after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin induction cycle: are routine bladder biopsies necessary?

Purpose: To determine the need for routine bladder biopsies (BBs) in assessing response to the induction cycle of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Methods: Our prospectively maintained NMIBC database was queried to identify patients with high-risk disease (carcinoma in situ, high-grade Ta/T1) who underwent BBs after BCG induction cycle. Urine cytology, cystoscopy, and BBs findings were evaluated.

Impact of time to second transurethral resection on oncological outcomes of patients with high-grade T1 bladder cancer treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin.

Purpose: To determine the impact of time to restaging transurethral resection (Re-TUR) on recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and cancer specific survival (CSS) of patients with high-grade T1 bladder cancer (BC) treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG).

Materials And Patients: Our prospectively maintained NMIBC databases were queried to identify patients with high-grade T1 BC who underwent Re-TUR before receiving intravesical BCG treatment (induction + 1-year maintenance). Patients were divided into three groups based on time to Re-TUR (group A: ≤ 6 weeks; group B: > 6-12 weeks; group C: > 12-18 weeks).