Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Therapy for Bladder Cancer: An Update.

ABSTRACT: Physicians treating patients affected by nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) have been in shock during the last six years since manufacturing restrictions on the production of the first-option medicine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), have resulted in worldwide shortages. This shortage of BCG has led to a rethinking of the established treatment guidelines for the rationing of the administration of BCG. Some possible schedule modifications consist of a decrease in the length of maintenance treatment, a reduction in the dose of BCG in intravesical instillations or the use of different BCG substrains. All these strategies have been considered valuable in times of BCG shortage. In addition, the lack of availability of BCG has also led to the general recognition

SUBMITTER: Guallar-Garrido S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7025668 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature