Bladder removal surgery has life-changing side effects (Image: Getty)
Bladder cancer patients can be spared life-changing surgery to remove the organ thanks to a new treatment combination, a landmark study has found. Around 11,000 cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year. One in four are an advanced form where the tumour has grown into the muscle wall.
Only half of such patients survive for five years and this type is most often treated with surgery to entirely remove the bladder. The operation and after-effects are notoriously brutal. Artist Tracey Emin had the radical surgery to treat severe squamous bladder cancer in 2020. She then wore a urostomy bag to collect urine for disposal.
Tracey Emin has spoken about the impact of the life-changing surgery (Image: Getty)
Tracey, 62, said the following year: “It’s a very private thing because, basically, you’ve got part of your bodily function happening on the outside of your body.
“It leaks and things happen. I could be out somewhere public and it could happen — and people’d just think I’ve pissed myself or think I’ve been drinking. Not being able to urinate and to have a bag of piss attached to you for the rest of your life is hardcore.”
In patients who avoid surgery, previous research has shown that a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy can reduce the risk of the cancer returning. Around 40% given this treatment typically see their cancer return within one year.
The new trial of 54 patients tested adding an immunotherapy drug called durvalumab to chemoradiation. It found that 46 patients (85%) remained cancer-free one year later.
Study leader Professor Nick James, an expert in prostate and bladder cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research in London (ICR), said: “We’ve shown that with the addition of immunotherapy, the combination of treatments has an even bigger improvement in outcomes — fewer cancers come back.
“Importantly, it’s possible to achieve these outcomes without surgically removing the bladder. Keeping the bladder means people can avoid major, life-changing surgery and maintain more of their normal daily function and independence.”
Durvalumab works by blocking a protein that can be used by cancer cells to hide from the immune system. It was recently approved on the NHS for bladder cancer when used alongside surgery and chemotherapy.
The latest results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago, suggest surgery could now safely be removed from the equation for some patients.
Prof James, who is also a consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, added: “I expect this approach to be practice-changing — offering bladder cancer patients improved outcomes whilst preserving their quality of life.”
ICR chief executive Professor Kristian Helin said: “Identifying smarter, kinder treatments is a key priority in cancer research — approaches that not only control the disease effectively, but that also reduce the life-changing impact of treatment on patients.
“These results are a significant step forward for people with aggressive bladder cancer.
“By adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, we may be able to spare patients the physical and psychological burden of having their bladder removed entirely and after one year, we’re already seeing a meaningful reduction in the risk of the cancer returning.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Radical surgery can cause serious side effects for bladder cancer patients. Finding kinder ways to treat the disease is incredibly important, and this trial has done exactly that.
“Further research will be needed at a larger scale to know for sure, but these results have the potential to be life changing for some bladder cancer patients.
“Breakthroughs just like this are essential to ensure people affected by cancer can live not just longer lives, but better lives.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
