‘Master class in bladder cancer: practical solutions to common scenarios in NMIBC’ was the title of a specialist satellite symposium held virtually at the 35th Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress this year. The symposium was opened by Dr Ashish Kamat who introduced his peers, the speakers, and acknowledged he was being joined by true experts in urology practice from around the world.
The first of these speakers was Dr Roger Buckley who explained the role of urological management in optimisation of BCG use during times of global shortage, as well as providing a summary of the national and international guidelines which support the use of single-dose postoperative chemotherapy and intravesical therapy for intermediate-risk NMIBC.
The next topic of discussion was the best management for intermediate-risk NMIBC, where Kamat presented a clinical case to the virtual audience. He provided details of a patient for which low-grade, small lesions were managed with office fulgaration with topical analgesin and instillation of gemcitabine, who has since had no evidence of disease for 24 months.
Buckley provided further information on intravesical therapy while Dr Paolo Gontero argued the case that active surveillance was ultimately the best therapeutic option. Next, Dr Maria Ribal and Dr Arnulf Stenzl put forward their arguments for and against, respectively, immuno-oncology therapy for BCG unresponsive disease. The last discussion, presented by Stenzl, focussed on new medical management of upper urinary tract urothelial cell carcinoma.
