ABSTRACT
Introduction Intravesical chemotherapy has been a classic approach to the treatment of nonmuscle-invasive superficial bladder cancer for several decades. Early investigations confirmed the impression that recurrence rates were decreased by this method of therapy, yet aggregate data from many trials were necessary in order to better quantitate this effect and evaluate the potential of such treatment to affect tumor progression. Although multiple agents have been employed over time, there has been a general collapse of the treatment menu over the past several years with the introduction of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy. During this time, efforts to decrease tumor recurrence in an optimal fashion using immediate postoperative instillation of these agents have been validated, and further techniques to optimize administration and drug delivery have been under development. As our understanding of the appropriate role for intravesical chemotherapy has emerged, newer agents, which have demonstrated activity in advanced disease, are being tested for their applicability in this area.
