Doctors may recommend one treatment method or a combination of methods. Approximately half of all superficial bladder cancer cases will recur within the bladder following the initial resection and diagnosis. Recurrent superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder may be treated using intravesical chemotherapy. Using intravesical chemotherapy, anticancer drugs are placed in the bladder through a tube called a catheter, which is inserted through the urethra. When given in this way, the anticancer agents remain in the bladder for one to two hours and have little systemic toxicity.
Side effects are usually local bladder symptoms.
The treatment is usually done once a week for several weeks and can be repeated several times if recurrences are detected. Invasive bladder cancer is much more aggressive and can potentially be a life-limiting malignancy. Types of urinary diversions include ileal conduit, continent urinary diversion and orthotopic neo-bladder reconstruction which is the creation of a new bladder using the patient's own intestines or colon. In selected patients, a partial cystectomy may be possible, thereby preserving normal bladder function. In patients who are unable to tolerate surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may achieve bladder preservation and control the tumor.