BJU international
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What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? The curative treatment of prostate cancer includes surgery, external beam radiation or interstitial radiation. However, a high percentage of patients may develop recurrent disease, which is often localised. The possibilities of treatment in these cases, including surgery or adjuvant radiotherapy, are not well defined. ⋯ A newer initiative conducted in Spain in a larger series of 42 patients with failure following radical prostatectomy involves brachytherapy with RAPID Strand™(125) I seeds and real-time placement. The 5-year bDFS rate was 88.6% and cancer-specific survival was 97%; complication rates were low. Optimization of salvage brachytherapy is under way and involves accurate placement of seeds, dose optimization and optimal patient selection.
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• Intravesical immunotherapy or chemotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is a well-established treatment for preventing or delaying tumour recurrence after tumour resection. However, up to 70% of patients may fail and new intravesical agents with improved effectiveness are needed. Gemcitabine is a relatively new anticancer drug that has shown activity against bladder cancer. • To systematically review the literature on the effectiveness and toxicity of intravesical gemcitabine for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). • MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, LILACS, SCOPUS, BNI, Biomed Central, Web of Science and BIOSIS were searched to identify trials of intravesical gemcitabine for the treatment of NMIBC. ⋯ Gemcitabine may be more active than MMC with a lower toxicity profile. • Compared with intravesical BCG therapy, gemcitabine had similar effects in intermediate-risk patients, less effective in high-risk patients and superior in BCG-refractory patients. However, each randomised trial identified represents a different clinical setting in NMIBC and therefore the evidence base is limited. Consequently these data should be interpreted with caution until further corroborative evidence becomes available. • Intravesical gemcitabine is a promising drug that may add to the urologist's options in treating patients with NMIBC.
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• Intravesical immunotherapy or chemotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is a well-established treatment for preventing or delaying tumour recurrence after tumour resection. However, up to 70% of patients may fail and new intravesical agents with improved effectiveness are needed. Gemcitabine is a relatively new anticancer drug that has shown activity against bladder cancer. • To systematically review the literature on the effectiveness and toxicity of intravesical gemcitabine for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). • MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, LILACS, SCOPUS, BNI, Biomed Central, Web of Science and BIOSIS were searched to identify trials of intravesical gemcitabine for the treatment of NMIBC. ⋯ Gemcitabine may be more active than MMC with a lower toxicity profile. • Compared with intravesical BCG therapy, gemcitabine had similar effects in intermediate-risk patients, less effective in high-risk patients and superior in BCG-refractory patients. However, each randomised trial identified represents a different clinical setting in NMIBC and therefore the evidence base is limited. Consequently these data should be interpreted with caution until further corroborative evidence becomes available. • Intravesical gemcitabine is a promising drug that may add to the urologist's options in treating patients with NMIBC.