Bladder Cancer Treatment

The genitourinary cancer experts at Winship Cancer Institute use the latest technology and advanced testing to analyze your particular bladder cancer at every level. Your team of physicians — including your surgeon, pathologist, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist and more — will meet to determine the best course of treatment for your cancer. This enables your care team to develop a plan to treat your cancer as aggressively as possible and with the fewest side effects.

Once your personalized bladder cancer treatment plan is created, your team will discuss it with you and schedule treatment at Winship right away. We will even work with you and your local doctors if you decide to stay closer to home for treatment. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that you get your cancer treated the way it needs to be, wherever that is.

As Georgia’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Winship researchers are pioneers in bladder cancer treatment, leading clinical trials to study and develop new bladder cancer treatment options each year. In fact, many of the drugs used to treat cancer today came out of clinical trials performed at Winship, which means our patients were some of the first to benefit. In other words, we can offer you access to the latest bladder cancer treatment you may not find at other cancer centers. We make every effort to match as many patients as possible to ongoing research.

At Winship, we offer the most comprehensive array of bladder cancer treatments in Georgia, and the expertise to treat the most complex bladder cancers. Based on your unique cancer, your treatment plan may include:

Surgery

Most bladder cancer treatment plans involve surgery to remove the tumor only (resection), the tumor and part of the bladder (partial cystectomy) or the entire bladder (radical cystectomy). Minimally invasive techniques are used whenever appropriate. Our genitourinary surgeons are some of the top-performing surgeons in the country, and we’re often able to perform multi-modal bladder-sparing procedures and remove tumors endoscopically, even if you’ve been told by another center that your bladder would need to be removed.

Chemotherapy

This treatment involves the use of medication to attack cancer cells throughout the body. Frequently, multiple drugs are prescribed in combination to increase efficacy, and new therapies are continually being developed and tested right here at Winship.

Intravesical therapy is a method of delivering medication through a catheter directly into the bladder, rather than through an infusion into the bloodstream or orally as a pill. It's commonly used with chemotherapy medications like adstiladrin for patients with high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guérin or unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and mitomycin for patients with low grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Immunotherapy

This type of treatment uses drugs to help your body’s immune system recognize, and enhance its ability to attack, cancer cells. Winship is one of the centers pioneering the use of immunotherapies for bladder cancers. In addition to leading immunotherapy clinical trials for bladder cancers, Winship has an entire immunotherapy research program that is advancing the world’s understanding of how our immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer.

Intravesical Therapy

This form of immunotherapy involves administering bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) medication directly into the bladder through a thin tube called a catheter. BCG treatment for bladder cancer typically requires multiple doses given over a six-week period and has been proven to be highly effective in reducing recurrence and progression of disease. Intravesical chemotherapy may be used in addition to BCG treatment. Winship is also currently researching the use of intravesical gene therapies for bladder cancer.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. Winship radiation oncologists commonly use external beam radiation in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer, often in combination with chemotherapy (chemoradiation). In some cases, chemoradiation may be used in place of surgery to remove the bladder. Because the bladder is constantly moving, it’s important to seek radiation from experienced radiation oncologists. Winship’s genitourinary radiation oncologists are experts in their field.

At Winship, we strive to deliver the most effective treatment while also minimizing side effects. But coping with bladder cancer and the side effects of bladder cancer treatment can be difficult. That’s why we have a supportive oncology team of specialized doctors and nurses on staff to help you with the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of living with cancer, including symptom management and counseling. This team — with the help of counselors, nurse navigators, dietitians and social service professionals — will be with you every step of the way, supporting you during your experience and beyond.