Urology

With a relatively simple test, urologists may be able to accurately determine in the future which patients will benefit from BCG bladder instillations. This is important because in 40 percent of patients, treatment is not successful, while treatment duration is lengthy and can cause unpleasant side effects.

American bladder cancer scientists have been awarded the prestigious R01 grant, together with urologist Dr. Tahlita Zuiverloon of the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute. The team will receive $3 million for research into the biology of chemotherapy resistance in bladder cancer.

A blood test can help to predict whether immunotherapy will be effective in patients with metastatic bladder cancer. This is evident from research by internist-oncologist Debbie Robbrecht from the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute.

A proportion of patients with difficult-to-treat non-metastatic bladder cancer benefit from immunotherapy with the drug pembrolizumab. This has been shown by international research, which Erasmus MC Cancer Institute co-led. Annually, researchers estimate this new therapy could save about 50 patients in the Netherlands from having their bladder removed.