Is it possible to predict BCG effectivity in the treatment of superficial bladder cancer? Are there any markers?

Abstract

Aim: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a standard treatment for reducing tumour recurrence and delaying progression of highrisk, non-muscle-invasive bladder tumours. However, it is not clear yet which patients are more likely to be responders to BCG. New Findings: The host factors and the tumor characteristics failed to be an independent factor in the prediction of BCG affectivity in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The local immune response after intravesical BCG installation was studied meticulously and the predictive value of the elements in this pathway was determined. Among these urine levels of IL-2 has most encouraging results and also the determination of nucleotide polymorphisms of different cytokines in the inflammatory pathway seem promising. Results: Research continues to determine which patients would benefit from BCG treatment and also to establish a better outcome. New approaches are needed in the light of developments in biomedical technology. A very critical part of this therapy is to find out the correlation of different cytokines with BCG therapy, which will give a better insight not only the mechanism but also a better therapeutic options.