Trial results for a study on weekly radiotherapy for Bladder Cancer were posted on 2026-01-15. The trial enrolled 65 participants to evaluate different planning approaches for radiotherapy.
Background
Localised muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is life-threatening and can cause significant symptoms. Around 50% of patients with MIBC who are referred for radiotherapy are unfit for standard radical treatment (surgery or daily radiotherapy with chemotherapy), but would have a normal life expectancy if their cancer were adequately controlled. Retrospective studies suggest that radiotherapy which is given weekly using fewer fractions and higher doses (hypofractionated), may be an alternative where daily radiotherapy is not an option.
Trial design
This completed study, titled 'Study of Weekly Radiotherapy for Bladder Cancer', enrolled 65 participants with Bladder Cancer. The trial investigated weekly radiotherapy, comparing a Standard Planning approach with an Adaptive Planning approach.
Key results
The study reported several key measurements comparing the two planning approaches:
- Proportion of Patients Experiencing Severe Acute Non-genitourinary Side Effects Following Radiotherapy:
- In the Standard Planning group, 4 participants experienced these side effects.
- In the Adaptive Planning group, 2 participants experienced these side effects.
- Local Disease Control Rate:
- For Standard Planning, local disease control was observed in 17 participants.
- For Adaptive Planning, local disease control was observed in 22 participants.
- Time to Local Disease Progression (Overall):
- The percentage event-free was 71.7 (95% Confidence Interval).
- Another measurement showed 47.3 percentage event-free (95% Confidence Interval).
- Overall Survival (Overall):
- The percentage surviving was 61.5 (95% Confidence Interval).
- Another measurement showed 46.2 percentage surviving (95% Confidence Interval).
- The Control Rate of Presenting Symptoms:
- In the Standard Planning group, symptom control was observed in 3 participants and 4 participants in two distinct measurements.
- In the Adaptive Planning group, symptom control was observed in 8 participants in both distinct measurements.
What this means
The results suggest that the Adaptive Planning approach for weekly radiotherapy in Bladder Cancer may offer advantages over Standard Planning. Specifically, Adaptive Planning was associated with a lower number of participants experiencing severe acute non-genitourinary side effects (2 participants compared to 4 in the Standard Planning group). Furthermore, Adaptive Planning showed a higher local disease control rate, with 22 participants achieving control versus 17 in the Standard Planning group. Symptom control was also higher in the Adaptive Planning group, with 8 participants showing control compared to 3 or 4 in the Standard Planning group. The overall time to local disease progression and overall survival rates provide general insights into the patient population studied.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for study NCT01810757, titled 'Study of Weekly Radiotherapy for Bladder Cancer', were posted on 2026-01-15 on clinicaltrials.gov.