How Should I Manage a Patient with Tumor Recurrence Despite Adequate Bacille Calmette-Guérin?

Intravesical immunotherapy with bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is the main treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), with proven effects on reducing recurrence, progression, and death from NMIBC. However, it is not effective in all patients, and recurrence after adequate BCG therapy can frequently lead to progression to more life-threatening disease. This point-counterpoint review considers how to treat a healthy 60-yr-old patient with T1 high-grade NMIBC fitting the new definition of BCG-unresponsive disease, that is, persistent high-grade disease at 6-12mo, despite an adequate course of induction and maintenance with BCG. PATIENT SUMMARY: When T1 high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is persistent or recurs shortly after a full course of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) plus maintenance, further BCG is not likely to work; this meets the new definition of a "BCG unresponsive" disease. For this situation, the safest (curative) option is removal of the bladder. If that is not an accepted alternative, then a clinical trial or combination intravesical chemotherapy or hyperchemotherapy may be another option.