Is chemotherapy used after bladder cancer surgery? How to use chemotherapy after bladder cancer surgery

Whether chemotherapy is performed after bladder cancer surgery depends on the stage, grade, and metastasis of the bladder cancer. If the bladder cancer is highly malignant, the condition is serious, and metastasis has occurred, chemotherapy is required after surgery; if the lesion is completely removed by surgery in the early stages of the disease, chemotherapy is generally not required.

Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells in the body. When cancer patients cannot undergo surgery, chemotherapy can prolong their survival. Sometimes chemotherapy is also needed as an adjuvant treatment after cancer surgery. So, is chemotherapy used after bladder cancer surgery?

1. Is chemotherapy used after bladder cancer surgery?

Whether chemotherapy is performed after bladder cancer surgery depends on the stage, grade, and metastasis of the bladder cancer. If the bladder cancer is highly malignant, with cancer cells infiltrating the surrounding area or lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis, chemotherapy is required after surgery to kill cancer cells in the body, reduce the recurrence rate, and prolong survival. If bladder cancer is in the early stages of the disease, chemotherapy is generally not required after timely surgery to completely remove the lesion.

2. How to treat bladder cancer after surgery

1. Intravesical chemotherapy

If it is superficial bladder cancer, intravesical chemotherapy can be performed after transurethral bladder tumor resection. The first intravesical chemotherapy should be performed within 6 hours after surgery and no later than 24 hours.

2. Systemic chemotherapy

If bladder cancer has metastasized to the lymph nodes, systemic chemotherapy should be performed to better kill cancer cells and improve the efficacy of the treatment.