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Combining THOLR/TUR With Epirubicin Safe, Effective for Postsurgery Bladder Cancer Therapy
Combining transurethral holmium laser resection (THOLR) or transurethral electrocision (TUR) with intravesical epirubicin within 24 hours of surgery has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of patients with bladder cancer tumors (J Int Med Res. 2019 Dec 29. Epub ahead of print).
Seeking to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining THOLR or TUR with intravesical epirubicin within 24 hours of surgery for the treatment of patients with non-muscular invasive bladder cancer, Jiawei Lu, MD, Department of Urology, The Affiliated Zhangjiagang Hospital of Soochow University, Zhangjiagang, jiangsu, China, and colleagues conducted a study of 218 patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer.
Patients were enrolled between July 2014 to December 2017 and randomized to receive THOLR or TUR. Within 24 hours of having surgery, all patients were given intravesical epirubicin 30 mg (dissolved in 5% glucose solution).
In addition to operation time, blood loss, and rate of obturator reflex, Dr Lu and co-investigators analyzed hospitalization time, catheterization time, complications, and recurrence.
According to the study findings, patients in the TUR arm had significantly longer operation, hospitalization, and catheterization times than those in the THOLR arm. In addition, the TUR arm had significantly greater rates of blood loss and intraoperative obturator reflex than patients in the THOLR arm.
“There were no significant differences in complications, recurrence rate survival, or recurrence-free survival between the two groups, with the exception of bladder perforation rate,” Dr Lu and colleagues reported.
“THOLR and TUR combined with intravesical epirubicin within 24 hours postoperatively were both safe and effective for treatment of bladder tumor; however, patients who undergo THOLR might experience more rapid recovery,” they concluded.—Hina Porcelli
