M26 — July 2012 — Glowing Cancer Surgery

Intro: Bladder cancer is one of those diseases people don't talk about. Yet, it's the 4th most common cancer among men — and one of the tougher cancers to successfully treat. However, technology is shedding new light on the condition, literally. Here's Dennis Douda for Medical Edge.

"Here's our tumor."

80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the U-S each year. Mayo Clinic Urologist Lance Mynderse says, because it's a cancer with a high risk of recurrence, ongoing vigilance in patients is essential.

"It involves repeated x-rays. It involves repeated examinations with the cystoscopic instruments. It involves cytologic analysis of the urine, and this is done lifelong."

Minimally invasive Cystoscopic procedures allow the inside of the bladder to be inspected with white light and a video camera. Suspicious tissue is removed. But, Dr. Mynderse has reason to believe even the best doctors could be leaving cancer behind.

"If one looks at the appearance of a tumor in the bladder, it's often a fleshy-colored tumor that very much mimics the rest of the lining of the bladder."

Mayo Clinic was the lead site in the United States for a 28 facility study to advancement the procedure; florescent-guided cystoscopy. A photo reactive drug, Cysview, is placed in the bladder where it's absorbed by tumorous tissue. Then, add in special light filters and lenses.

"And then you can flip a switch on the camera that turns the light from white to blue and that blue light interacts with the chemicals that have been bound to the tumor and it fluoresces red."

Dr. Mynderse says that florescence allowed researchers to find more papillary tumor and 32% more cancer in-situ, meaning it could be removed before it spread.

"That translated into a nearly 20% drop in bladder cancer recurrence 9 months after treatment, and a 7-to-8 month average increase of living tumor-free 4 years after treatment."

"If you can do something to interrupt that process they are eternally grateful."

For Mayo Clinic, I'm Dennis Douda.

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The process is FDA Approved. By the way, the number one way to cut your risk of Bladder Cancer? Don't Smoke!

Dr. Mynderse (Mind-erz) offers one extra piece of advice for women—bladder infections can mask the symptoms of cancer, so if you have blood in your urine or other concerns, see your doctor.

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