Introduction:

Patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) typically require invasive monitoring and treatment, including intravesical therapy and repeat transurethral resections of bladder tumor (TURBT). As new treatments emerge, we aimed to better understand how patients with NMIBC perceive repeat TURBTs and explore any relationships that may exist between patient demographics and clinical variables, including number of TURBTs, and treatment preferences.

Methods:

Patients with NMIBC who had undergone one or more TURBTs were recruited through the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) Patient Survey Network (PSN) to complete a one-time web-based survey. This survey ascertained patient demographics, clinical information, and treatment preference between either surgical therapy (TURBT) or a hypothetical therapy that would allow intravesical chemoablation without surgery for bladder cancer recurrence. Bivariable analyses were performed to evaluate associations of patient demographics and clinical variables with treatment preference. Furthermore, multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed controlling for patient demographics and clinical variables.

Results:

A total of 362 respondents completed the survey, with the majority (59%) preferring repeat TURBT over intravesical chemoablation. Bivariable analyses identified significant preference for repeat TURBT among those responding with non-US country of residence, low grade, more years since last TURBT, and effectiveness as most important decision-making factor (Table 1). On multivariable analysis, non-U.S. residence and effectiveness as most important decision-making factor were found to have a significant association with preference for repeat TURBT (Table 2).

Conclusion:

While certain demographic and clinical variables were found to be positively associated with preference for surgical treatment, there did not appear to be a relationship between number of TURBTs and treatment preference. To better understand patient perception, further exploration of these relationships is warranted.

Funding: N/A