Role of external radiation therapy in invasive bladder cancer

Abstract

Radical cystectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Radiotherapy, as well as surgery are essential methods of treatment of invasive bladder cancer. Combined modality bladder-sparing treatment can achieve 5-year overall survival rates of 50–63%, and with some 75% of surviving patients maintaining their bladder. For local treatment alone, radiation therapy following TURB, has resulted in 5-year survival rates of 20–40%. Many studies have been performed to improve the results of radiotherapy in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer by escalation of total dose, adoption of altered fractionation, modification of treatment volume, application of hyperthermia or using radiosensitizers. Radical radiotherapy following TURB should be used only in patients who are not surgical candidates or who have refused surgery and are not suitable for chemotherapy. Since bladder cancer is a disease of an elderly and aging population, definitive radiotherapy can be only one possibility for radical treatment for relatively large number of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy following radical or partial cystectomy need further evaluation in multicenter randomized controlled trials.