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Over the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from sci-fi prophecies to real-life application. And it’s accelerating fast. But as with any novel technology, it’s important to look beyond extreme examples and instead focus on the realistic practicalities of AI – and where its application might lead. 

Healthcare – with its need for advanced resources and efficiency – is seemingly a perfect home for AI. But the sector has been slow on digitalizing, let alone bringing in such game-changing technologies. Yet gradually, as healthcare facilities around the world digitalize their processes, we’re seeing not just a new way of getting results, but a new way of thinking.

This is now being demonstrated in bladder cancer care with advanced tools emerging that soon expect to become the new norm. In uro-oncology, AI can have a variety of utilities, such as aiding pre-surgical planning through 3D-imaging, and improving the quality of procedures through augmented reality guidance.1,2 In addition, utilizing AI in diagnostics can provide support through real-time tumor detection, histological categorization, risk stratification, and treatment planning.3,4

So, how can AI and diagnostic technologies help when it comes to the care pathway in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)? To see the potential in this field, it’s important to first understand the context of the disease itself.

Why is it crucial to address challenges in NMIBC?

NMIBC remains a major health concern worldwide. In fact, recurrences and progression to muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) affect nearly half of the diagnosed NMIBC population, potentially due to misdiagnosis, delay of diagnosis and incomplete resection of tumors.5–7 In NMIBC, missing early recurrence of high-risk lesions may lead to substantial delay of appropriate treatments, which may have a detrimental impact on disease prognosis.8–10

NMIBC reportedly has the highest lifetime cancer treatment costs per patient due to the frequency of procedures and interventions11,12

A delay in bladder cancer diagnosis is more common among women and patients in rural or resource-poor areas13,14

So what can be done to address this? Accurate, timely diagnosis and prediction of recurrence and progression is essential in NMIBC management,12 and advanced tools that can help us to achieve this are key4 – this is where the use of AI is beginning to show promise.4,12

The need for early, accurate diagnosis and improved risk stratification

Expert consensus and NMIBC guidelines are aligned on there being a need for improving the overall quality of NMIBC care and diagnostics in particular.15,16

Identifying patients’ risk factors, or ‘risk stratification’, is vital when planning, predicting prognosis and outcomes, and managing treatment for NMIBC.17 However, current models to support risk stratification have limitations. There’s no universally accepted standard, and the significance of various risk factors used in such models isn’t always clear.18,19 Current models also still largely exclude molecular and genomic profiling of bladder tumors17,20 – factors which can be crucial for identifying a targeted treatment approach. This can lead to delayed or suboptimal treatment – resulting in worse outcomes for NMIBC patients and higher costs of care.18

Early and precise diagnosis of NMIBC is essential for accurate risk stratification, decision making and treatment planning. This in turn may enhance the effectiveness of treatment, by identifying patients who are unlikely to benefit from specific treatments and avoiding unnecessary procedures – leading to more cost-effective care.21,22

Shifting to a precision-based approach in NMIBC

Improving diagnostic precision is becoming increasingly important in NMIBC. NMIBC care is just starting to tap into modern technologies like advanced genetic testing and is expected to further shift with the emergence of new targeted treatment options and technological advancements like AI.23

What is precision diagnostics in NMIBC?

Precision diagnostics doesn’t just consider the clinical presentation and traditional risk factors, it allows a more thorough understanding of the genetic and molecular characteristics of tumors and identifies abnormalities that might be causing it to be more aggressive.24

How? By utilizing current conventional diagnostics such as radiology and cystoscopy, in combination with emerging tools including next-generation imaging techniques, biomarkers based on immunohistochemistry, next-generation sequencing (NGS), multi-omics, and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML).24

precision_medicine.png

A precision-based approach aims to get greater effectiveness from treatment and less off-target effects. The rapid advancement of technologies, the shift towards precision medicine and emerging novel targeted treatments in NMIBC all drive the renewed emphasis of the importance of the diagnostic process.

“The ability to improve the management of NMIBC is upon us with all the new technologies and medicines entering the market. Novel diagnostic tools, including AI, offer clinicians increasing amounts of information for risk assessment and decision making. Optimizing the diagnosis to identify patients who could benefit from novel therapies will have a positive impact on the prognosis for bladder cancer patients.” - Dan Schneider, President and CEO of Photocure
What are the benefits?

Precision diagnosis, along with increasing support from AI, may bring us closer to addressing the challenges faced in NMIBC care. It can identify patients who are more likely to respond, or unlikely to benefit, to particular treatment. Plus, more individualized and targeted therapies can increase the chance of a response to treatment while reducing side effects as opposed to more general approaches like chemotherapy.24

A shift towards precision diagnostics and personalized treatment is clearly already underway, with approvals of targeted drugs such as erdafitinib and pembrolizumab in NMIBC,27 as well as AI-based diagnostic tools being explored in several areas of uro-oncology, including prostate and bladder cancer.23,28

Transforming NMIBC care with AI

Advancement in technology, with the use AI and ML, has the potential to dramatically shape medical procedures in the near future. AI and ML have the potential to revolutionize NMIBC management and are increasingly being used to analyze images and other data, and can help identify tumors more accurately, highlighting high-risk patients, enhancing clinical decision making, and fast-tracking patients to more effective targeted treatments.3,4

AI-supported software can enhance current surgical procedures. It can integrate findings from imaging, such as blue light cystoscopy (BLC), with other patient data, such as medical history and pathology grading, to identify patients at risk and predict outcomes.58 There are also increasing advancements in AI-based tools to support clinical decision making, with one tool already available and recommended by NCCN guidelines for prostate cancer. This tool, ArteraAI Prostate Test, analyzes digital pathology images to help identify patients who will benefit from therapy and guide treatment decisions.23

In NMIBC specifically, AI is being increasingly explored in clinical trials, with one tool evaluated in a recent clinical study that uses more comprehensive molecular profiling to evaluate pre- and post-treatment responses to BCG immunotherapy. It aims to create a personalized model to show presence of NMIBC and predict response to BCG.28 Another tool, PROGRxN-BCa (PROGression Risk assessment in NMIBC), presented at the 2024 AUA congress exceeded current tools in NMIBC when predicting disease progression, demonstrating a benefit in avoiding unnecessary treatment escalation.59 In addition, a recent systematic review of AI studies in NMIBC found AI models to generally outperform non-AI models overall when predicting NMIBC outcomes.12

“AI is intended to complement clinical practice, not replace decision making by clinicians. By combining AI with enhanced imaging technology and biomarkers, it can help achieve more precise diagnoses, help analyze and integrate the increasing amount of data, support decision making and improve overall outcomes for patients in the long term.” - Anders Neijber, Chief Medical Officer of Photocure
As we look to the future, there are still hurdles to overcome when it comes to broader implementation of these technologies and shifting to precision diagnostics. This includes limited-quality clinical data, lack of guideline recommendations, high equipment costs and lack of regulatory approvals.60

Despite rapid increases in evidence around the use of these tools, there is still room for improvement, and there is a clear need for collaboration between healthcare and AI communities to develop higher quality models, allowing us to reach the next step in NMIBC care.12

Conclusion

With NMIBC remaining a significant health concern globally, the integration of novel diagnostic technologies and AI promises to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment. By enhancing accuracy, integration of data, aiding risk stratification, and guiding personalized treatment approaches, these advancements offer hope for improved patient outcomes and more efficient disease management overall. While challenges such as data quality, cost, utility and regulatory hurdles exist, the trajectory is clear: the combination of AI and precision diagnostics procedures holds immense promise for transforming the landscape of NMIBC care in the years to come.

References

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Source: Photocure. (2024). Beyond the Buzzwords: How AI and Advancing Diagnostic Technologies Will Transform Early Bladder Cancer Care [Press release]. https://www.photocure.com/our-perspective/bladder-cancer-and-ai?utm_source=Emailutm_medium=Internalutm_campaign=Photocure+LinkedIn+AIutm_content=Internal+email
Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the Bladder Cancer Company, announces that its partner Asieris Pharmaceuticals (SSE: 688176) has communicated today that it has completed patient enrollment for the Hexvix® Phase III bridging trial.
Photocure ASA, The Bladder Cancer Company, announces the publication of the study “The Impact of Blue Light Cystoscopy Use Among Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Patients in an Equal Access Setting: Implications on Recurrence and Time to Recurrence”. The article was published online 28 April 2023 in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Genitourinary Cancer.
Blue-light cystoscopy (BLC) is a photodynamic diagnostic technique that augments the detection of occult disease missed under traditional white light. Instillation of hexaminolevulinate, a heme precursor, causes preferential accumulation of protoporphyrin IX and other photoactive porphyrins in neoplastic cells, which are then excited under the wavelength of blue light (~450 nm) to fluoresce red. The sensitivity of BLC in detecting cancerous lesions is much higher than that of white-light alone (91% vs. 76%) and used together, BLC plus WLC has a sensitivity of 98.5%.1 
Management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) significantly impacts healthcare resource utilization due to requirements for ongoing surveillance. White light cystoscopy (WLC) represents the traditional approach to NMIBC disease surveillance, though physicians utilizing WLC alone may fail to detect all cancerous lesions.
Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA, The Bladder Cancer Company, announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new and improved Blue Light system to be used with Photocure’s Cysview® product in Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC®) procedures for the detection of non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA, The Bladder Cancer Company, announces the publication of the study “Clinical and Economic Impact of Blue Light Cystoscopy in the Management of NMIBC* at U.S. Ambulatory Surgical Centers: What is the Site-of-Service Disparity?” in Urologic Oncology this week. The research objective was to quantify the clinical and economic impact of the incorporation of BLC in the management of NMIBC in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) considering 2022 Center for Medicare Services (CMS) patient-physician coverage and reimbursement.
Background: Cxbladder diagnostic tests combine genomic information from urinary mRNA with phenotypic information to either rule out low-risk individuals or identify patients at a high risk of urothelial carcinoma (UC).

Objective: To evaluate the performance of Cxbladder and urine cytology, and Cxbladder's adjudication of atypical cytology and equivocal cystoscopy.

High-definition blue light cystoscopic imaging showcased at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress, Amsterdam

Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA, The Bladder Cancer Company, announces that its collaborations with capital equipment providers support the most advanced technologies including recent blue light system upgrades.
Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the Bladder Cancer Company, announces the commercial availability of Karl Storz’s New Blue Light equipment powered by Saphira™ in the U.S.

As part of the rollout, Karl Storz plans to host a Virtual Launch event for the medical community streamed from its El Segundo, California office where Sia Daneshmand M.D. and Kristin Scarpato M.D. M.P.H. will discuss the clinical benefits of using blue light cystoscopy (BLC®) with Cysview® for NBMIC*,

Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- Photocure ASA, the Bladder Cancer Company, announces the publication of new results from its exploratory research program in the journal Biomedicines, entitled “Antitumor Effect and Induced Immune Response Following Exposure of Hexaminolevulinate (HAL) and Blue Light in an Orthotopic Model of Rat Bladder Cancer”. These results support initial pre-clinical data on the potential anti-tumor effect of HAL, which was presented at the BLADDR 2019 congress.

The therapeutic benefit of intravesical instillation of hexaminolevulinate (HAL) at the time of transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) has been demonstrated in multiple studies. The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess the safety of repeated administration of HAL from a phase III pre-trial planned analysis.

The utility of blue light cystoscopy (BLC) in patients receiving Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) during post-treatment cystoscopy is not well understood. Our objective was to determine if BLC improves recurrence detection in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients undergoing BCG.

PURPOSE: We compared blue light flexible cystoscopy with white light flexible cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer during surveillance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients at high risk for recurrence received hexaminolevulinate intravesically before white light flexible cystoscopy and randomization to blue light flexible cystoscopy.

Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) during transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) is guideline-recommended as it improves cancer detection and decreases recurrence of the disease. However, the extent to which BLC is used has not been established.

Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) for the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is an evidence- and guideline-supported intervention that has been shown to increase cancer detection and decrease recurrence.

Photodynamic diagnosis using hexaminolevulinate (HAL)-guided BL-TURB may reduce the recurrence risk in non-muscle invasive BCa compared to standard WL-TURB due to more sensitive tumor detection. The impact of the initial use of WL- vs.

Bladder cancer remains one of the most expensive cancers to manage. Newer technologies and medications further compound costs of care. Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) has been traditionally offered in the inpatient setting, however, in-office applications are available.

To determine the estimated budget impact to practices that incorporate blue light cystoscopy (BLC) with hexaminolevulinate HCl (HAL) for the surveillance of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in the clinic setting.

With the introduction of advanced technologies in the clinic setting such as HAL, further cost comparative research is needed to justify HAL as a high value option.

Smoking has a strong causal association with bladder cancer but the relationship with recurrence is not well established. We sought to assess the association of smoking status on recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in a contemporary cohort of patients with predominantly high-risk, recurrent NMIBC managed with photodynamic enhanced cystoscopy.

Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) with hexaminolevulinate (HAL) during transurethral resection of bladder cancer improves detection of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and reduces recurrence rates.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of blue light flexible cystoscopy (BLFC) for surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). This was a prospective cohort of consecutive patients who underwent office BLFC for NMIBC. Clinical information was collected including cystoscopic findings and pathologic data.

Photodynamic diagnosis using the optical imaging agent hexaminolevulinate (HAL, Hexvix®, Ipsen Pharma GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany) as an adjunct to white light cystoscopy (WLC) during the initial transurethral resection of bladder tumours (TURB) improves the detection rate of bladder cancer and leads to fewer recurrences.

Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) with hexaminolevulinate (HAL) during transurethral resection of bladder cancer improves detection of non- muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and reduces recurrence rates. Flexible BLC was approved by the FDA in 2018 for use in the surveillance setting and was demonstrated to improve detection.

Diagnosis:

Clinical Presentation

There are no reliable screening tests available for detecting bladder cancer; hence the diagnosis is usually made based on clinical signs and symptoms. Painless hematuria – microscopic or gross – is the most common presentation and a hematuria investigation in an otherwise asymptomatic patient detects bladder neoplasm in roughly 20% of gross and 5% of microscopic cases.1,2
The American Urological Association (AUA) recommends that non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients with persistent or recurrent Ta or CIS should receive a second induction course of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) after the first course. However, a significant number of patients decline. Real-world data evaluating the efficacy of a second BCG induction course is needed.

Nearly 80% of patients presenting with bladder cancer (BC) present with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Despite radical treatment, many of these patients experience disease progression. A surveillance program combining regular cystoscopy, upper urinary tract imaging, and urine cytology is typically instated to detect recurrence after radical treatment of NMIBC. This surveillance program has several shortcomings; amongst them the invasive nature of cystoscopy alongside the limited sensitivity (approximately 48%) of urine cytology.

Surveilling recurrent urothelial carcinoma (UC) requires frequent cystoscopy, which is invasive, expensive and time-consuming. An accurate urinary biomarker has the potential to reduce the number of cystoscopies required during post-treatment surveillance.

Published Date: October 2020

In 2020, approximately 81,000 cases of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder will be diagnosed in the United States, with nearly 18,000 associated deaths.1 Bladder cancer disproportionally affects men and is associated with well-defined environmental risk factors—tobacco use underlies approximately 50% of cases.2 Nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is primarily managed by transurethral resection, risk-stratified use of intravesical chemotherapeutic or immunotherapeutic agents, and close surveillance.

Published Date: September 2018

More than 81,000 individuals are diagnosed with bladder cancer in the United States every year, of whom 75% have non-muscle invasive disease.1,2 Unfortunately, half these cases recur despite transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), and from 5% to 25% of repeated recurrences progress to muscle-invasive disease.3,4,5

Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) using hexaminolevulinate (HAL/Cysview/Hexvix) has been previously shown to improve detection of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Herein, we evaluated the detection of malignant lesions in a heterogenous group of patients in the real world setting and documented the change in risk category due to upstaging or upgrading.

A 90-year old man with no significant past medical history presented to urology clinic complaining of gross hematuria, urinary frequency, and dysuria. Previous urine cytology was atypical but two white-light cystoscopies failed to show any lesions.

Conference Coverage
Conference Highlights Written by Physician-Scientist
Presented by Hailong Hu, MD
The 2024 American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting featured a session on non-invasive bladder cancer, and a presentation by Dr. Hailong Hu discussing blue light cystoscopy versus white light cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer using modern HD 4K equipment, specifically an analysis of pivotal trial and real-world data in China.
Presented by Yair Lotan, MD
The 2024 AUA meeting was host to the Health Services Research, Value of Care: Cost and Outcomes Podium session. Dr. Yair Lotan presented the results of STRATA, a multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial comparing Cxbladder triage to cystoscopy in patients with microhematuria.
Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the Bladder Cancer Company, announces its participation in the congress, and two abstract presentations at the 2024 European Association of Urology congress (EAU) in Paris, France, highlighting the benefits of Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC®) in Bladder Cancer management.
Presented by Hailong Hu
The 2024 European Association of Urology (EAU) annual congress held in Paris, France was host to a non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) abstract session. Dr. Hailong Hu presented the results of a prospective, comparative, within-patient multicenter phase III trial comparing blue light to white light cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer using modern high-definition 4K equipment.
Presented by Hanzhong Li, MD
Dr. Hanzhong Li presented the results of an analysis of unpublished clinical trial and real-world data comparing blue light to white light cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer in China.  While there is ample evidence demonstrating that blue light outperforms white light cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer, to date, there are no multicenter studies that have been conducted in China evaluating this with modern 4K LED equipment. 
Presented by Karsten Zieger, MD, PhD
At the 2023 AUA annual meeting, Dr. Karsten Zieger presented the results of an analysis from the Nordic registry evaluating the role of flexible blue light cystoscopy in the surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Presented by J. Alfred Witjes, MD, PhD, Marek Babjuk, MD, PhD, Joan Palou MD, PhD, FEBU, FRCS (Glas)
The 2023 EAU annual meeting included a rapid fire session discussing common problems and controversies in bladder cancer, featuring a debate assessing the best transurethral resection strategy.
Photocure ASA, The Bladder Cancer Company, announces the presentation of clinical data from the Veterans Affairs (VA) BRAVO study at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) which was held February 16-18, 2023 in San Francisco, USA
Presented by Sanjay Das, MD
In this abstract by Sanjay Das and colleagues, they evaluate the impact of Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC) use among patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in an equal access setting, specifically the Veterans Affairs (VA) system.
Presented by Sima Porten, MD, MPH

 The 23rd Annual Meeting of the SUO was host to a session on the real life impact of CxBladder tests for the diagnosis and surveillance of bladder cancer. Dr. Sima Porten began her presentation by noting that there has been an “explosion” of “at home” tests, many of which have been approved by the US FDA. The most prominent example of this is the Cologuard stool DNA tests for colorectal cancer screening that has seen widespread adoption in the United States.

Presented by John Sfakianos, MD

The 23rd Annual Meeting of the SUO was host to a session on the real life impact of CxBladder tests for the diagnosis and surveillance of bladder cancer. Dr. John Sfakianos began his presentation by noting that current guidelines for surveillance provide little concrete guidance for when surveillance may be stopped. The AUA currently provides the following guidance by risk category

Presented by Sia Daneshmand, MD
The 2022 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting featured a session on bladder cancer, including a presentation by Dr. Sia Daneshmand discussing the impact of blue light cystoscopy on tumor recurrence in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients treated in a real-world setting.
Presented by Stephen B. Williams, MD, MS, FACS
Current studies are underway evaluating the use and outcomes of blue light cystoscopy in a real-world setting. This study from an equal access setting in the VA observed a significantly decreased risk of recurrence and prolonged time interval to recurrence following BLC compared to the pre-study WLC. There was no difference in any bladder cancer outcomes by race. In this presentation Stephen B. Williams BLC decreased rates of recurrence and longer time intervals to recurrence with the use of BLC.
Presented by Stephen B. Williams, MD, MS, FACS
Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC) has become an important clinical procedure for bladder cancer management, especially as research suggests that BLC can reduce recurrence rates compared to White Light Cystoscopy (WLC).   However, there is currently a lack of real-world data evaluating the risk of bladder cancer recurrence and progression in an equal access setting, and by race, among those treated with BLC. 
Presented by Neal D. Shore, MD & Trinity Bivalacqua, MD, PhD
The 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association was host to a case-based debate regarding the role of repeat transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) for all high grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancers (NMIBC). This session was expertly moderated by Dr. Neal Shore, and Dr. Trinity Bivalacqua was tasked with arguing in favor of repeat TURBT in this setting.
Presented by Muhannad Alsyouf, MD
The 2022 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting included a session on the epidemiology and evaluation of bladder cancer and a presentation by Dr. Muhannad Alsyouf discussing whether a restaging TURBT is necessary for high risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) if the initial TURBT was performed using blue light.
Presented by Lars Dyrskjøt, PhD
On the second day of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancer Symposium 2022 focusing on urothelial carcinoma, Dr. Lars Dyrskjøt discussed the role of ctDNA (circulating tumor DNA) in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) for assessment of therapy response, stratification of the risk of recurrence, and early detection of relapse, in a session focused on a Potpourri of Hot Topics in Urothelial Carcinoma.
Presented by Taketo Kawai, MD
Dr. Kawai presented an analysis assessing the role of photodynamic diagnosis-assisted TURBT (PDD-TURBT) to reduce the residual tumor in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). High-risk NMIBC has a high rate of residual tumor following TURBT (40-60%).
Presented by Michael L. Creswell
 The SUO annual winter meeting included a bladder cancer session and a presentation by Dr. Michael Creswell discussing the economic outcomes of hexaminolevulinate blue-light cystoscopy compared to white light cystoscopy for the diagnosis and monitoring of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
Presented by Sanam Seyedian, MD
The role in the surveillance of patients following intravesical therapy has not been established. In a podium presentation at the American Urologic Association Virtual Annual Meeting, Dr. Seyedian and colleagues presented the results of their analysis examining this question.
Presented by Anne K. Schuckman, MD
The optimizing personalized management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer session at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) included a presentation from Dr. Anne Schuckman discussing which patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer may benefit from radical cystectomy.
Presented by Max Kates, MD

There have been several recent single-arm trials in the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) setting. The first question that arises is whether these single-arm trials are enough or do we need to randomize patients for our future trials.

Presented by Marc-Oliver Grimm, MD
In an oral presentation in the New Trials Update session at the 12th European Multidisciplinary Congress on Urological Cancers (EMUC), Dr. Marc-Oliver Grimm discussed the results of the NIMBUS trial, Treatment of High-Grade Non-Muscle Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder
Presented by Nathan Brooks, MD
Dr. Nathan Brooks, Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Fellow at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA presented “Correlation Between Body Mass Index (BMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and Outcomes in Patients Treated with Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG)
Presented by J. Alfred Witjes, MD, PhD
J. Alfred Witjes, MD, PhD, began his talk explaining that he believes cystoscopy is still needed in the primary diagnosis of bladder tumors. Cystoscopy gives important information regarding multiplicity, size, stage, the grade of bladder tumors, and OR planning.
Presented by Ashley Alford, MD
Prior randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that the use of blue light cystoscopy (BLC) is associated with improved detection of both carcinoma-in-situ and papillary bladder tumors. As a result, BLC is recommended for use in patients with a history of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Presented by Hamed Ahmadi, MD
Blue light cystoscopy has been shown to not only increase the detection rate of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (20% for any tumor) including carcinoma in situ (CIS; 25-43%), it also decreases recurrence (27% at 12 months) and progression rates (24% at 24 months).
Presented by Marie Andersson, MD
The diagnostic process may be extensive in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who have positive or suspicious urinary cytology when white-light flexible cystoscopy is negative. The next step in management is typically to proceed with resection biopsies
Presented by Anne Schuckman, MD
At the American Urological Association (AUA) 2020 Virtual annual meeting, Dr. Anne Schuckman discussed blue light cystoscopy for bladder cancer and several of her tips and tricks. Dr. Schuckman notes that there are over 75,000 new bladder cancer diagnoses per year, leading to more than 15,000 deaths. The prevalence of bladder cancer is >550,000 cases, making it the highest per capita treatment cost due to recurrent disease and multiple recurrences.
Presented by Wassim Kassouf, MD, FRCS
Treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) remains a significant clinical challenge. At the session on Confronting Obstacles in Treating Nonmuscle-Invasive and UTUC at the 2020 ASCO GU, Dr. Wassim Kassouf presented an overview of treatment options available for these patients.
Presented by Eugene Shkolyar, MD
The gold standard for evaluation and diagnosis of new bladder cancer and for surveillance of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) remains cystoscopy. However, as has been clearly demonstrated before, cystoscopy is not a perfect test – besides being user dependent, white light cystoscopy
Presented by Gorm von Gohren Edwin
More than 81,000 individuals are diagnosed with bladder cancer in the United States every year, of whom 75% have non-muscle invasive disease. Unfortunately, half these cases recur despite transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), and from 5% to 25% of repeated recurrences progress
Presented by Yair Lotan, MD
Yair Lotan, MD discussed the use of blue light cystoscopy with CYSVIEW® in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Dr. Lotan notes that there are several unmet medical needs with regards to NMIBC. First, it is associated with a high risk of recurrence, with up to 61% of patients recurring in the first year, and up to 78% within 5 years. Second, NMIBC may progress to muscle invasion
Presented by Ricardo Leão, MD
Barcelona, Spain (UroToday.com) Up to 3/4 of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients will endure recurrence during their lifetime. Disease follow up is invasive, costly and long and consists of cystoscopy, cytology, and imaging. The most prevalent non-invasive approach for the diagnosis of recurrence remains urinary cytology,
Presented by Yair Lotan, MD
Barcelona, Spain (UroToday.com) At the urogenital cancer treatment session, Dr. Yair Lotan discussed the impact of blue light flexible cystoscopy and utilization in the clinic setting. Dr. Lotan notes that there are several unmet medical needs with regards to non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). First, it is associated with a high risk of recurrence, with up to 61% of patients recurring in the first year, and up to 78% within 5 years.