Bladder cancer historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Farima Kahe M.D. [2]

Overview[edit | edit source]

Association between bladder cancer and environmental carcinogens is first discovered in 1895. First cystectomy is performed as a treatment for bladder cancer in in 1877. Radium is first used as a treatment of bladder tumors in 1903. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy including methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC) is first described in 1985. FDA approved the use of live bacterium, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for treatment and prevent the recurrence of superficial tumors in 1990.

Historical Perspective[edit | edit source]

Discovery[edit | edit source]

• Cystoscope was first discovered by Maximilian Nitze, a German urologist, in 1877.^[1]
• Association between bladder cancer and environmental carcinogens is first discovered in 1895.
• Urine cytology is first described in 1945.^[2]
• Micropapillary bladder cancer is first described in 1982.^[3]
• Approximately 356,000 new bladder cancer cases of bladder cancer are reported in 2002 worldwide.^[4]

Landmark Events in the Development of Treatment Strategies[edit | edit source]

• First cystectomy is performed as a treatment for bladder cancer in in 1877.
• Radium is first used as a treatment of bladder tumors in 1903.^[5]
• Early bladder removal surgery includes removing the bladder (cystectomy) and surrounding tissue where cancer is most likely to spread is performed in 1956.^[6]
• FDA approves the first chemotherapy drug cisplatin for treatment of bladder tumors in 1978.
• Reconstructive bladder surgery in introduced in 1980-1985.
• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy including methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC) is first described in 1985.^[7]
• Intravesical chemotherapy using mitomycin to reduce risk of bladder cancer's recurrence is discovered in 1988.^[8]
• FDA approved the use of live bacterium, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for treatment and prevent the recurrence of superficial tumors in 1990.^[9]
• New chemotherapy combination regimen including gemcitabine with cisplatin is introduced as more effective with less side effects compare to MVAC therapy in 2000.^[10]
• New technology that helps to detect cancerous tumors in the bladder that are invisible to the naked eye is discovered in 2016.

References[edit | edit source]