Efficacy and toxicity of intravesical bacillus calmette-guerin therapy in elderly patients with non-muscleinvasive bladder cancer

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy and toxicity of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy between elderly and younger patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Material and methods: This retrospective study included 87 NMIBC patients who received intravesical BCG between January 2011 and December 2018. We compared the treatment outcomes of patients75 and 75years old. Our primary endpoint was intravesical recurrence-free survival after treatment. The secondary endpoint was the toxicity caused by intravesical BCG. Results: The elderly and younger patients included 38 and 49 patients with mean ages of 80.6 and 66.3 years (p0.01), respectively. Their baseline parameters were similar, aside from age. The elderly and younger patients 5-year recurrence-free survival rates were 59.4% and 51.6%, respectively, and were not significantly different (log-rank test, p=0.72). Moderate to severe pain on micturition requiring prescription medications was observed more frequently in the elderly patients than in the younger patients (p0.01). No elderly patients required hospitalization for any adverse events. However, 3 (6.1%) younger patients were treated for urinary tract infection in the hospital. Conclusions: The efficacy and toxicity of intravesical BCG therapy for NMIBC patients are not associated with age. Therefore, elderly patients with high-risk NMIBC should be treated in the same manner as younger patients in clinical practice.