ReviewCancers2025
Symptoms and Side Effects of Bacille Calmette-Guerin Therapy for Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer as Reported by Patients: A Systematic Review.
Review in Cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- 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
- BCGitis or genitourinary tuberculosis? Diagnostic dilemma following intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy: a case report.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- The TRIM-cancer paradox: BCG as a programmable vaccine platform and a mechanistic probe for rational immunotherapy design.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesKnowledge of the symptoms and side effects (SSEs) of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is critical when establishing selecting appropriate therapies for patients. The aim of our study was to systematically review the common patient-reported SSEs associated with BCG-based and other intravesical chemotherapy treatment options for NMIBC.
methodsA systematic search of AMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, and Scopus was conducted from inception to July 2024. The PRISMA process was followed. Prospective studies with an adult cohort that assessed SSEs through direct patient reports with standardized patient-reported outcome measures were included in this study. A narrative synthesis was performed to compare the frequency of SSEs reported by treatment options. Statistical analysis was performed using chi square and Fisher's exact tests, with statistical significance at
resultsThirty-four studies met the eligibility criteria. The main findings indicated that BCG induction is more toxic than BCG induction with maintenance; however, severe SSEs resulting in treatment cessation occurred almost twice as often in patients on BCG induction with maintenance. Patients who received full-dose BCG were more likely to have SSEs compared to those receiving a low dose. BCG monotherapy alone caused more SSEs compared to BCG with chemotherapy. Patients reported more SSEs with BCG compared to chemotherapy alone for induction with maintenance. Limitations of the study include the varied length of maintenance regimes affecting nature of data reported.
conclusionsThe findings of this study allow for improved counselling of patients regarding expected side effects in accordance with their recommended treatment options for NMIBC.
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Registered trials
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