title: [Bladder-conserving treatment for bladder cancer: potential of and developments in radiotherapy].
abstract: The standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is surgical removal of the bladder and construction of a neobladder. Recently, important improvements have been made in the potential for bladder-conserving treatment using radiotherapy. External beam radiotherapy has undergone technological improvements, as a result of which it is possible to radiate the tumour more precisely while decreasing radiation to healthy tissue. Radiochemotherapy improves local recurrence-free and overall survival compared with radiotherapy alone. The results of this combined treatment are comparable with those of surgery. Additionally, Dutch radiotherapy departments have collected data in a national database of 1040 selected patients with confined bladder cancer. These patients were treated with external beam radiation, limited surgery and brachytherapy. The 5-year local recurrence-free survival was 75%. Bladder conserving treatment options for muscle-invasive bladder cancer should be discussed during the multidisciplinary meeting.
authors: Academisch Medisch Centrum, afd. Radiotherapie, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. m.c.hulshof@amc.uva.nl
authors: Maarten C C M
authors: MC
authors: Hulshof
authors: Bradley R
authors: BR
authors: Pieters
authors: Caro C E
authors: CC
authors: Koning
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D019042:Muscle Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery