Photodynamic therapy

The preliminary data suggest that red-light whole-bladder photodynamic therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of Tis and may be useful in the prophylactic management of superficial bladder cancer. Theoretically, whole-bladder photodynamic therapy has the advantage of higher efficacy after a single treatment than most conventional modalities for superficial bladder cancer. In patients with Tis, the complete response rate is 88%, and 25% have recurrences during a mean follow-up of 20 months (range 12-60). In patients undergoing prophylaxis, the recurrence rate is 31% and the median time to recurrence is 18 months. Importantly, none of the high-risk patients treated with whole-bladder photodynamic therapy has developed disease progression in stage or grade at the time of recurrences. Whole-bladder therapy also has the potential advantage of repeat treatment without increased tumor resistance or increased morbidity. Data from the present phase II-III clinical trials involving a large number of patients will define the role of photodynamic therapy in the management of superficial bladder cancer.