ReviewNature reviews. Urology2014
The mechanism of action of BCG therapy for bladder cancer--a current perspective.
Review in Nature reviews. Urology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 408 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
408 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 679 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunotherapy in urological cancers: new paradigms and a systematic review of clinical trials and real-world evidence.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy versus chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma: a meta-analysis.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin immunotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- Oncologic outcomes of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy in elderly patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- INtraVESical immunoTherapy (INVEST) prior to radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: trial protocol.BJU international · 2026Article
- Predictive and prognostic biomarkers of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy failure in bladder cancer patients: A systematic review.Molecular oncology · 2026Review
- Impact of Photodynamic Diagnosis on Immune Cell Infiltration in BCG-treated Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.European urology open science · 2026Article
- Beyond the BCG Paradox: Biological Rationale and Clinical Evidence for Combining Intravesical BCG with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in High-Risk Non-muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.Oncology and therapy · 2026Review
- Bacterial engineering for cancer therapy.Nature cancer · 2026Review
- An Intravesical Akkermansia muciniphila-Based Chemo-Immunotherapeutic Platform for Bladder Cancer.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Epigenetic reprogramming by BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccination: A novel strategy to reverse immunodeficiency in chronic kidney disease.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Review
- From tumor targeting to tumor accessibility: surface-engineered bacteria as precision living therapeutics for translational medicine.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Intra-tumoral microbiota: Key modulators of tumor immunity and therapeutic potential.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy in the management of upper tract urothelial carcinoma in-situ: a systematic review.Translational andrology and urology · 2026Review
- Nano-armed bcg delivers Cu-Fe MOF to trigger dual cell death in bladder cancer.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Article
- Article
- Persistent follicular cystitis following intravesical gemcitabine: a case series and literature review.BMC cancer · 2026Review
- BCG-trained macrophages promote pan-anti-tumor activity through epigenetic rewiring of NOX2-ROS axis.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2026Article
- A molecular landscape tracking the progression of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.World journal of urology · 2026Review
348 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been used to treat non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer for more than 30 years. It is one of the most successful biotherapies for cancer in use. Despite long clinical experience with BCG, the mechanism of its therapeutic effect is still under investigation. Available evidence suggests that urothelial cells (including bladder cancer cells themselves) and cells of the immune system both have crucial roles in the therapeutic antitumour effect of BCG. The possible involvement of bladder cancer cells includes attachment and internalization of BCG, secretion of cytokines and chemokines, and presentation of BCG and/or cancer cell antigens to cells of the immune system. Immune system cell subsets that have potential roles in BCG therapy include CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes, natural killer cells, granulocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Bladder cancer cells are killed through direct cytotoxicity by these cells, by secretion of soluble factors such as TRAIL (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand), and, to some degree, by the direct action of BCG. Several gaps still exist in our knowledge that should be addressed in future efforts to understand this biotherapy of cancer.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.