Research Progress of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Bladder Cancer

Abstract

Systemic treatment, commonly referred to as chemotherapy, is a fundamental approach for treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and metastatic bladder cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has recently become a standard treatment for MIBC, significantly reducing tumor recurrence rates and improving patient outcomes. Patients may receive adjuvant chemotherapy involving various drug combinations to improve prognosis following surgery. MIBC patients who are unwilling or unable to undergo radical cystectomy and instead opt for bladder-sparing surgery may benefit from systemic chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy, wherein chemotherapy proves more impactful than radiotherapy. Over the past 30 years, cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been the main approach for treating metastatic bladder cancer. Recent advancements in the molecular understanding of bladder cancer have led to the use of targeted therapies, which have shown promising results. Immunotherapy for MIBC has only recently emerged, with clinical trial results indicating that immunotherapy offers better efficacy and fewer side effects for metastatic bladder cancer. In recent years, basic research on bladder cancer has been burgeoning, and clinical treatment methods have been improving accordingly. This article reviews the development of systemic treatment for bladder cancer.