Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Bladder Cancer Surgery Improved Survival

Patients who received chemotherapy after bladder cancer surgery demonstrated an approximately 30 percent lower risk of death than those patients who underwent surgery alone, revealed an analysis by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. Researchers used a large database of patients diagnosed with cancer in the United States. They analyzed 5,653 patients, of which 1,293 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy versus 4,360 patients who received surgery alone. They found that patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical treatment had improved overall survival when compared to patients who received surgical treatment alone with only post-surgical observation.

Lead researcher Dr. Galsky said, "Until now, data supporting adjuvant chemotherapy has been mixed. Our analysis of actual cases supports the use of chemotherapy after surgery for patients with locally advanced bladder cancer. Chemotherapy prior to surgery remains the optimal approach for patients with bladder cancer based on the available evidence. However, population-based observational studies may be used to help fill the knowledge void in situations where clinical trials have not yielded definitive evidence. This comparative effectiveness analysis may help inform the care of patients with bladder cancer who have not received chemotherapy prior to surgery."

The study will be presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Source-Medindia