Updates in intravesical electromotive drug administration® of mitomycin-C for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Abstract

Electromotive drug administration (EMDA) increases the local drug efficacy by controlling and enhancing transmembranous transport into tissue. EMDA of intravesical mitomycin-C (MMC) has been used for treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) for about a decade on the basis of laboratory studies that demonstrated an enhanced administration rate of MMC into all bladder wall layers after EMDA compared to standard instillation/passive diffusion (PD). Higher MMC concentrations might have a clinical impact since EMDA was associated with lower recurrence rates than PD in randomized studies. Further data suggest that EMDA/MMC is at least equivalent to BCG in treatment of high-risk bladder tumours. In addition, BCG combined with EMDA/MMC as well as preoperative EMDA/MMC are new therapeutic strategies with promising preliminary results in terms of higher remission rates and longer remission times. In summary, these findings suggest that EMDA for MMC delivery in the bladder could be a major therapeutic breakthrough in the treatment of NMIBC.