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2nd TURBT
My husband NMIBC: T1, high grade papilliary and a CIS tumor.
His urologist did not recommend a 2nd TURBT. I found out about it by researching. Instead he will start treatment Tuesday about 4 wks post 1st TURBT. He did acquire muscle and it was clear. My thought is that since this is high grade cancer, he doesn't want to put off treatment (BCG) but when I read this, I panicked:
"A repeat TURBT ensures accurate diagnosis and removes as much visible tumor as possible, which significantly improves the effectiveness of BCG immunotherapy. According to guidelines from the American Urological Association (AUA) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), this step is critical for high-risk, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer."
Feedback is appreciated. Thank you.
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@glinda47 ,
I did not read the article that you found and what you provided does make it sound like there are more benefits than negatives with a second turbt. It is possible that the first turbt removed all of the noted tumor and left clean margins visible on biopsy. Perhaps that influenced your urologist's decision. Have you discussed this with him/her? Perhaps a second opinion is warranted?
My husband had a muscle invasive high grade urothelial cell carcinoma and I do not remember a second turbt procedure when he was found to have recurrences. He was a BCG failure with recurrence during the maintenance phase of BCG.
Almost a year ago, I had a second TURBT about 3 weeks after the first, to ensure that all cancer cells had been removed during the first TURBT. Only then did we talk about next steps, which in my case became BCG immunotherapy. I've now been through 3 rounds of BCG, and had my latest NED cystoscopy 2 days ago. My next cystoscopy is scheduled for October, with the next series of BCG to shortly follow. So based on my experience, the second TURBT was required to confirm NED, before BCG was scheduled.
The 2nd TURBT showed NED?
How did the BCG go?
@sepdvm Yes, we sent the uro a note today....waiting for response. He will say the first TURBT was clear enough for him to see BCG is next step.
Was your husband given GEM/DOCE after BCG failed? So sorry for that. But it could happen to anyone with bladder cancer. It's a rough disease.
Thank you for sharing.
@glinda47 He did not get Gem/Doce. He had muscle invasive BC and this was not approved for that. He had a trial on Keytruda which did not control disease. He elected to go for a cure with radical cystectomy and neobladder. He is cancer free currently after many postoperative complications during 2021-23. He is OK with his new normal and hopefully he remains NED.
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Sending light, health, strength. So sorry for 2 years of issues.... Gad.
Very happy to hear he's managing well (and hope you are too...certainly a rough ride for you. Hope you had support if you needed it) and hope he improves even more as time passes. And certainly NED remains so.
Thank you for sharing.