Bladder cancer patients are 50 per cent less
likely to relapse if they receive chemotherapy alongside radiotherapy.
A new study conducted by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the
University of Birmingham has indicated that dual treatment is the best way to
ensure the deadly disease does not return.
The major trial was funded by Cancer Research UK and the results have been
published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As of 2008, 28 people in the UK were diagnosed with bladder cancer and it was
the seventh most common form of the illness.
Study co-leader professor Nick James believes the new findings could mean that
fewer patients will need to have their bladder removed.
"Bladder cancer is largely a disease of older people and is also linked to
smoking, meaning patients are often in relatively poor general health when
diagnosed," he remarked.
The research also found that 48 per cent of people who underwent both forms of
treatment were still alive five years later, compared with just 35 per cent who
had radiotherapy alone.
