Is trimodal therapy the current standard for muscle-invasive bladder cancer?

Objective

The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence and future perspectives of bladder-sparing treatment for MIBC.

Methods

A non-systematic literature search in Medline/Pubmed was performed in October 2023 with the following keywords “bladder cancer”, “bladder-sparing”, “trimodal therapy”, “chemoradiation”, “biomarkers”, “immunotherapy”, “neoadjuvant chemotherapy”, “radiotherapy”.

Results

Urology guidelines recommend radical cystectomy as the standard curative treatment for muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer, reserving radiotherapy for patients who are unfit or who want to preserve their bladder. Given the morbidity and mortality of cystectomy and its impact on quality of life and bladder function, modern oncologic therapies are increasingly oriented toward organ preservation and maximizing functional outcomes while maintaining treatment efficacy. Trimodal therapy, which incorporates maximal transurethral resection followed by radiotherapy with concurrent radiosensitizing chemotherapy, is an effective regimen for bladder function preservation in well-selected patients. Despite the absence of comparative data from randomized trials, the two approaches seem to provide comparable oncologic outcomes.

Studies are evaluating the expansion of eligibility criteria for trimodal therapy, the optimization of radiotherapy and immunotherapy delivery to further improve outcomes, and the validation of biomarkers to guide bladder preservation.

Conclusions

Trimodal therapy has shown acceptable outcomes for bladder preservation; therefore, it provides a valid treatment option in well-selected patients.