Diagnostic and therapeutic technology assessment. BCG immunotherapy in bladder cancer: a reassessment

The DATTA panelists considered BCG immunotherapy to be efficacious in reducing recurrences of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. It has reduced recurrences in some patients in whom chemotherapeutic agents have failed, and in recent trials it has performed better than doxorubicin in preventing recurrences and in treatment of CIS. The DATTA panelists urged close evaluation of patients undergoing BCG therapy to guarantee that the tumor does not progress during treatment. Adverse reactions to BCG were not considered serious enough to jeopardize its use.