An international trial found combining a chemotherapy drug with an immunotherapy bladder cancer treatment is simple, safe and effective.
The trial was led by Professor Dickon Hayne, from The University of Western Australia's Medical School and Head of Urology for the South Metropolitan Health Service WA, who presented the findings to a conference in the United States.
"Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is common and causes substantial suffering," Professor Hayne said.
"It requires removal or irradiation of the bladder within five years in more than 30 per cent of people with high-risk tumours, despite best current treatment."
More than 500 participants in Australia and the UK took part in the investigator-initiated bladder cancer trial from 2013 to 2023.
The chemotherapy drug mitomycin was combined with a current treatment (BCG) that administers a strain of modified bacteria, via a catheter, to stimulate an immune response to early cancer cells.
The phase 3 trial examined cure rates, survival, side-effects and quality of life for patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
The study found combining mitomycin and BCG was efficient and safe, required fewer treatment discontinuations and fewer doses of BCG than BCG alone.
"This method of treatment could provide a simple and cost-effective treatment for patients who suffer from this cancer," Professor Hayne said.
"There has been a global shortage of BCG for the past five years, which is likely to persist for some time.
"Adding mitomycin means patients require 40 per cent less BCG compared to just using BCG for treatment."
The trial was developed through the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP).
