Neoadjuvant immunotherapy, in combination with two medications, is also helpful in treating metastatic bladder cancer. Researchers at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital report in the journal Nature Medicine that the therapy can be used without jeopardizing the operation.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy does not target the tumor, but strengthens the patient’s immune system. Bladder cancer often recurs after surgery and the immunotherapy should “minimize” the chance of recurrence.
“For bladder cancer advanced to this stage, especially the patients who already have lymph node metastases, the risk of recurrence and strength is very high and there are no good treatment options. The findings in this study can hopefully improve the perspective for these patients,” said Leader of the study, internist-oncologist Michiel van der Heijden.
The study included 24 patients with locally metastatic bladder cancer. That means that the tumor had not yet spread through the bloodstream. 23 of the patients were able to undergo surgery within 12 weeks, so no time was wasted using the immunotherapy. Most tumors had even shrunk considerably. After surgery, cancer cells were no longer visible on the tissue in 11 of the patients. In two people the disease returned within a year, which is less than can normally be expected, the researchers report.
The researchers report that more research needs to be done on the correct proportions of the therapy. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is therefore currently only used during studies.
By: ANP | Photo: Pixabay
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