Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin(BCG) remains the standard treatment for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer(NMIBC) and is also considered an option for intermediate and very high-risk groups. Despite over five decades of clinical use, limited information is available regarding patients´ quality of life(QoL) during therapy. The objective was to evaluate QoL patients receiving BCG therapy using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bladder Cancer(FACT-Bl) questionnaire.
Prospective multicentre observational study from February 2022 to June 2024 in patients with NMIBC. Patients completed the FACT-Bl questionnaire before and after the induction course. The results of both questionnaires were compared with Student's t-test for paired data using IBM®SPSS-Statistics-25.
A total of 235 patients completed both questionnaires and were analysed. 97% of the series completed BCG induction. A worsening in the physical well-being(PWB) subscale(P < 0.05) and an improvement in the emotional well-being(EWB) subscale(P < 0.05) were observed in the total series of cases, without differences in total scores. In BCG-naive patients (90%), significant deterioration was observed in PWB subscale(P < 0.05) and FACT-Bl Trial Outcome Index(TOI) (P < 0.05). Patients over 75 years showed a statistically significant improvement in EWB, while those aged≤75 years experienced significant declines in PWB, bladder cancer subscale (BlCS), and three total scores. Limitations include exclusive use of FACT-Bl questionnaire to assess QoL and limited sample size.
BCG induction therapy shows no significant impact on overall FACT-Bl scores but declines PWB and improves EWB subscales. Age and prior BCG exposure influence outcomes; notably, patients aged ≤75 show marked declines in PWB, BlCS and total FACT-Bl scores.
Actas urologicas espanolas. 2026 Mar 16 [Epub ahead of print]
J Caño-Velasco, A Luis-Cardo, J C Moreno-Cortés, L Carrasco-Loras, J Astudillo-Campoverde, J D Subiela, F Lozano-Palacio, M Campistol-Torres, R Pichler, A Partl, F Lackner, F Del Giudice, D Carino, L A García-Martín, P Salamanca-Blanco, A Bielsa-Carrillo, A M Pastor-Cordero, V Bataller-Monfort, A Tello-Delsors, L Polanco-Pujol, A Lafuente-Puentedura, J Aragón-Chamizo, F Herranz-Amo, G Barbas-Bernardos, D A González-Padilla, F Villacampa-Aubá, D Sánchez-Zalabardo, J E Robles-García, B Miñana-López, M Moschini, F Soria, D DAndrea, L S Mertens, J Y C Teoh, S Albisinni, B Pradere, C Hernández-Fernández, en nombre de la Asociación Europea de Urología - Jóvenes Urólogos Académicos (EAU-YAU), Grupo de Trabajo Sobre Carcinoma Urotelial
Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: ., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario de Toledo, Toledo, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario de Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Universidad de Medicina de Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria., Departamento de Ciencias Urológicas y Materno-Infantiles y, Hospital Policlínico Umberto I, Universidad Sapienza de Roma, Roma, Italy., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora del Prado, Talavera de la Reina, Spain., Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain., Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Madrid, Spain., Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain., Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Urología, Cancer Center, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain., División de Oncología Experimental, Departamento de Urología, URI, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milán, Italy., División de Urología, Departamento de Ciencias Quirúrgicas, Hospital San Giovanni Battista, Universidad de Turín, Turín, Italy., Departamento de Urología, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Universidad de Medicina de Viena, Viena, Austria., Departamento de Urología, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Ámsterdam, the Netherlands., Centro de Urología S.H. Ho, Departamento de Cirugía, Universidad China de Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Departamento de Urología, Universidad de Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy., Departamento de Urología UROSUD, Hospital La Croix Du Sud, Quint-Fonsegrives, France.