Amirali Salmasi, MD, is a urologist at UC San Diego Health. Photo courtesy of UC San Diego Health
The American Cancer Society predicts that 83,000 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed this year, and about 17,000 people will die from the disease. NMIBC is the most common type of bladder cancer, accounting for about 75% of cases. It is a type of localized bladder cancer that has not spread or invaded the muscle wall of the bladder.
“To date, the primary treatment for NMIBC has typically been surgical resection followed by intravesical therapies such as immunotherapy or chemotherapy. Unfortunately, when these interventions prove ineffective, the standard treatment approach has been cystectomy, which carries significant morbidity risks,” said Amirali Salmasi, MD, associate professor of urology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, urologist at UC San Diego Health, and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “This innovative gene therapy approach has the potential to delay or eliminate the need for cystectomy.”
UC San Diego Health urologists have started five patients on bladder gene therapy so far. The drug is administered into the bladder through a urinary catheter once every three months and offers a treatment option for patients who no longer respond to BCG therapy.
