Combined-modality treatment and organ preservation in bladder cancer. Do molecular markers predict outcome?

Purpose: In invasive bladder cancer, several groups have reported the value of organ preservation by a combined-treatment approach, including transurethral resection (TUR-BT) and radiochemotherapy (RCT). As more experience is acquired with this organ- sparing treatment, patient selection needs to be optimized. Clinical factors are limited in their potential to identify patients most likely to respond to RCT, thus, additional molecular markers for predicting treatment response of individual lesions are sorely needed.