ReviewResearch and reports in urology2015
Immunotherapy for bladder cancer.
Review in Research and reports in urology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 2 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
94 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 155 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Current trends in cancer immunotherapy: a literature-mining analysis.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2020Pooled it
- 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
- A Unique Protein Adjuvant for Precision Immunotherapy to Prevent Recurrence of Surgically Resected Colorectal Cancer.Cancers · 2026Review
- Activation of toll‑like receptors by non‑coding RNAs and their fragments (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2025Review
- CuOTeDsP nanotherapeutics enhance cuproptosis-mediated immunotherapy by modulating cholesterol metabolism in bladder cancer.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Article
- Cytokine Therapy in Bladder Cancer: Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Future Prospects.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Sequential intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Güerin and mitomycin C applied with electromotive drug administration therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Article
- BCG vaccination and multiple sclerosis risk: A Norwegian cohort study.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2024Article
- Review
- BCG and Alternative Therapies to BCG Therapy for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Review
- Review
- Article
- A Review of Clinical Trials of Cancer and Its Treatment as a Vaccine.Reviews on recent clinical trials · 2024Review
- Vaccines and Dementia: Part II. Efficacy of BCG and Other Vaccines Against Dementia.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2024Review
- Article
- Applications and clinical trial landscape using Toll-like receptor agonists to reduce the toll of cancer.NPJ precision oncology · 2023Review
- Mutations in genes encoding innate immune molecules identified in bladder cancer samples as potential biomarkers for immunotherapy with BCG and agonists.Frontiers in urology · 2023Article
- Application of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and their agonists in cancer vaccines and immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
34 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
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It is nearly 40 years since Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) was first used as an immunotherapy to treat superficial bladder cancer. Despite its limitations, to date it has not been surpassed by any other treatment. As a better understanding of its mechanism of action and the clinical response to it have evolved, some of the questions around optimal dosing and treatment protocols have been answered. However, its potential for toxicity and failure to produce the desired clinical effect in a significant cohort of patients presents an ongoing challenge to clinicians and researchers alike. This review summarizes the evidence behind the established mechanism of action of BCG in bladder cancer, highlighting the extensive array of immune molecules that have been implicated in its action. The clinical aspects of BCG are discussed, including its role in reducing recurrence and progression, the optimal treatment regime, toxicity and, in light of new evidence, whether or not there is a superior BCG strain. The problems of toxicity and non-responders to BCG have led to development of new techniques aimed at addressing these pitfalls. The progress made in the laboratory has led to the identification of novel targets for the development of new immunotherapies. This includes the potential augmentation of BCG with various immune factors through to techniques avoiding the use of BCG altogether; for example, using interferon-activated mononuclear cells, BCG cell wall, or BCG cell wall skeleton. The potential role of gene, virus, or photodynamic therapy as an alternative to BCG is also reviewed. Recent interest in the immune check point system has led to the development of monoclonal antibodies against proteins involved in this pathway. Early findings suggest benefit in metastatic disease, although the role in superficial bladder cancer remains unclear.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.