Bladder cancer research

Researchers are looking at better ways to diagnose Open a glossary item and treat bladder cancer.

Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for bladder cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.

Some of the trials on this page have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collect and analyse the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of bladder cancer research.

Research and clinical trials

All cancer treatments have to be fully researched before everyone can use them. This is so we can be sure that:

they work
they work better than the treatments already available
they are safe

Research into diagnosis and early detection of bladder cancer

Researchers want to improve ways of diagnosing bladder cancer. And to help diagnose bladder cancer earlier.

Urine tests

Doctors normally look directly into the bladder to diagnose bladder cancer (cystoscopy). They would prefer a less invasive test than a cystoscopy. Researchers are developing urine tests that may help:

diagnose a new bladder cancer
look for cancer that has come back
screen for bladder cancer in people who don’t have symptoms

Researchers are also looking at biomarker Open a glossary item tests to monitor patients and help improve the care and treatment of other people in the future. A biomarker is a substance in the body that can be measured.

The best way to diagnose bladder cancers accurately is still cystoscopy and biopsy Open a glossary item . But some doctors are very hopeful that they may be able to use urine tests in the future. This would mean that people who have had bladder cancer may not have to keep having cystoscopies.

Research into treatment for bladder cancer

Surgery

Researchers are looking at ways to improve surgery Open a glossary item . Research includes:

using a detailed MRI scan instead of a TURBT to help diagnose some bladder cancers
using biomarkers to see any changes in the body before and after bladder cancer surgery

Radiotherapy

Researchers are looking at how they plan radiotherapy Open a glossary item . They want to target your bladder cancer more accurately. They want to give the highest dose of radiotherapy possible to the cancer. And get less healthy tissue in the treatment area. This could mean you have fewer side effects.

You might have radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy (chemoradiotherapy Open a glossary item ). Researchers are looking at combining chemoradiotherapy with immunotherapy drugs . They want to find out if this makes the treatment work better.

Chemotherapy

Past trials found which chemotherapy Open a glossary item drugs work well for bladder cancer. And when to give them. Current trials are looking more closely at:

adding chemotherapy to BCG for non muscle invasive bladder cancer
different chemotherapy drugs, such as cabazitaxel
combining chemotherapy with immunotherapy for advanced (metastatic) bladder cancer

Targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy

Targeted cancer drugs work by ‘targeting’ those differences that help a cancer cell Open a glossary item to grow and survive. Some seek out and destroy cancer cells. Others help the body's immune system to attack the cancer. So some of these drugs are also called immunotherapies.

Researchers are looking at targeted drugs and immunotherapy:

combined with other treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or BCG treatment
for non muscle invasive bladder cancer
before and after surgery for muscle invasive bladder cancer
for advanced (metastatic) bladder cancer

There are many clinical trials looking at different targeted and immunotherapy drugs, including:

pembrolizumab
nivolumab
cabozantinib
rucaparib
enzalutamide
atezolizumab
durvalumab
erdafitinib
cetrelimab
avelumab

Gut health and treatment

Researchers are looking to see if gut bacteria (the microbiome Open a glossary item ) affects how well treatment works for certain cancers that start in the pelvis , including the bladder. They will analyse poo samples to see if the gut microbiome can predict how well the treatment will work.

Personalised treatment

Researchers are looking at tissue samples Open a glossary item in detail to try to match people to treatment for muscle invasive bladder cancer. They will look at tissue samples to helps them to find out more about the make up of each person’s bladder cancer. They hope this will help doctors decide the best treatment for everyone based on the genetic make up of their cancer.

Research into quality of life

Some research is being done into quality of life Open a glossary item after bladder cancer. Researchers hope to find out more about how a diagnosis of bladder cancer and living with bladder cancer affects quality of life.