BALTIMORE, April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), released the 2024 clinical practice guideline amendment for the diagnosis and treatment of non-metastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer.

There are over 83,000 new cases of bladder cancer and nearly 17,000 bladder cancer deaths estimated for 2024 in the U.S. Up to 50% or more of patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) can progress to invasive disease. The male-to-female ratio is 3:1, and disease incidence increases with age. While rates of bladder cancer are higher in Caucasians than other ethnicities, disease-specific survival is worse overall for African Americans.

“The landscape for the management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer continues to change with the advent of new therapies, techniques, and adjuvant care,” said Dr. Jeffrey M. Holzbeierlein, former SUO president and chair for the guideline amendment. “This amendment to the previous muscle invasive bladder cancer guidelines will help clinicians appropriately manage these complex patients.”

Amendment highlights include:

• Text supporting statements on neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and multi-modal bladder preserving therapy was updated to include newly available data and updated discussion.
• Recommendations were updated on adjuvant immunotherapy and considerations for organ sparing procedures.
• The Future Directions section was revised to include additional text on detection, therapeutics, and surveillance.

This amendment is a comprehensive update to the original 2017 guideline, incorporating revisions made in 2020 and 2024. The document underwent a rigorous peer review process involving experts from various professional backgrounds, as conducted by the AUA.

The full updated guideline is now available at auanet.org/MIBCGuideline

A summary of the Guideline also appears at:

Holzbeierlein J, Bixler BR, Buckley DI, et al. Treatment of non-metastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer: AUA/ASCO/SUO guideline (2017; amended 2020, 2024). J Urol. Published online April 25, 2024. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000003981

https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/JU.0000000000003981

Please use this reference to cite the guideline.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 25,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.