Effects of Intravesical Tice Strain and Connaught Strain Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Therapy in Stage pT1 Bladder Cancer

Ryu, Ji Hyung; Sung, Luck Hee; Noh, Choong Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE: We compared prophylactic effects and complications of intravesical instillation of the Connaught and Tice strains bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) in patients with stage pT1 bladder cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 98 patients with stage pT1 bladder cancer were treated with transurethral resection (TUR) between January 1992 and April 1998. Of the 98 patients, 51 received the Connaught strain BCG (81mg), 27 the Tice strain BCG (12.7mg) and 20 patients underwent TUR alone. The patients were followed-up for 18-78 months (mean 42.5months). The recurrence and progression rates, mean months to tumor recurrence, recurrence free survival rate, using Kaplan-Meier curve, and complications, were compared between the two BCG strain groups.
RESULTS
The overall recurrence rate was 27.5% in the Connaught strain BCG group, 29.6% in Tice strain BCG group and 65% in TUR alone group. The mean months to tumor recurrence, and the recurrence free survival rate, showed that both BCG strain drugs were superior to TUR alone. Although the prophylactic efficacy of the Connaught strain BCG was a little higher than that of the Tice strain BCG, there were no significant differences in the recurrence rates and recurrence free survival rates between the two drugs. The incidences of complications were 94.1 and 85.2% in the Connaught strain BCG and Tice strain BCG groups, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Both the Connaught and Tice BCG strains were superior to TUR alone in the prophylaxis of the recurrence in stage pT1 bladder cancer. There was no significant difference in the complication rates between the two groups. Therefore, both the Connaught and Tice BCG strains may be regarded as alternative treatments.