Bladder cancer treatment with intravesical immunotherapy (BCG)

Scientists and medical practitioners long ago confirmed the importance of the patient’s immune system for fighting tumors and destroying cancerous cells all around the body. Bladder cancer is also significantly impacted by the human immune response and might even be fully cured with only the immune system's power. So, urologists and oncologists developed a treatment method that helps activate local immune forces (mainly various immune cells and fluids) to fight bladder cancer in the site of its origin. The method is called intravesicular immunotherapy and involves injections of particular substances into the urinary bladder via a urethral catheter (a tube made of plastic or metal inserted into the bladder via the urethra). Also, it’s possible to deliver intravesicular therapy via injections through the skin. That method is often used when inserting the catheter into the urinary bladder is impossible. Currently, the most promising medication for intravesical immunotherapy is a solution with numerous weakened bacteria in the form of a traditional vaccine Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG). When entering the urinary bladder, the vaccine helps activate the local immune response, effectively cure early-stage bladder cancer, and prevent relapses in patients after surgeries. To achieve a better effect, the solution must remain inside the bladder for at least two hours.