Investigative and Clinical Urology (Nov 2023)

The effect of immediate neoadjuvant electromotive instillation of mitomycin C with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin versus BCG alone in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A randomized controlled trial

  • Abdalla El Azab,
  • Ahmed Abdelbary,
  • Aly El Faqeh M. Okasha,
  • Hatem Aboulkassem,
  • Ashraf Saad Zaghloul,
  • Riham Mohamed Karkeet,
  • Ibrahim Abdelrahman

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4111/icu.20230161
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 64, no. 6
pp. 554 – 560

Abstract

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Purpose: The clinical effect of neoadjuvant intravesical instillation of chemotherapy immediately before transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) has been a subject of recent research. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of immediate neoadjuvant electromotive instillation of mitomycin C before transurethral resection for patients with non-muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer. Materials and Methods: Our study was a randomized clinical trial carried out on 50 patients diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer. Patients were classified into two groups: Group I consisted of 25 patients who received neoadjuvant electromotive drug administration of mitomycin C before TURBT and intravesical bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG) per week for 6 weeks; Group II consisted of 25 patients who were treated with TURBT followed by intravesical BCG per week for 6 weeks alone (standard of care). Patients were followed up at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months by cystoscopy. Results: Patients who received neoadjuvant electromotive drug administration of mitomycin C before TURBT in combination with BCG had a low recurrence rate compared with those who received BCG alone (12.0% vs. 48.0%, respectively; p=0.012) and a longer disease-free interval (88.0% vs. 52.0%, respectively; p=0.012). Four patients developed progression to muscle-invasive disease (16.0%) in the BCG alone group. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.516). Regarding adverse effects, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant intravesical electromotive drug administration of mitomycin C before TURBT is safe; reduces recurrence rates and enhances the disease-free interval compared with TURBT followed by BCG alone.

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