Cysview™
Cleveland Clinic is among the first centers in the U.S. to use a new technology that will significantly improve treatment of bladder cancer, a disease where more than half of patients experience recurrence. The new technology, called fluorescence cystoscopy, uses a fluorescent dye that when placed under a special light, allows doctors to clearly see cancerous growths in the bladder–growths that would have been undetectable using existing technology.
Previously, urologists only used standard "white" lights to view tumors that were slated to be removed during surgery. However, tumors within the bladder can be difficult to see, and the new dye clearly marks all cancerous growth in the bladder.
More than 70,000 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with cancer of the bladder in 2010, with an estimated 14,000 people dying from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. Smoking has been found to be a major risk factor for bladder cancer, with smokers at three times the risk. Bladder cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in men and the eighth most common in women.
A study showed that bladder cancer recurrence was 16 percent less in patients whose doctors used the special dye to identify tumors before surgery. Cleveland Clinic urologist Dr. J. Stephen Jones was an investigator in the study, in which approximately 25 percent of patients were found to have tumors that were only detectable using fluorescence cystoscopy.
Patients needing surgery for tumor removal will benefit from having a more thorough diagnosis that will allow doctors to identify and remove all tumor growth. Many recurrent cases of bladder cancer are now believed to actually have been continued growth of unseen and unremoved tumors. To make an appointment with Dr. Jones at Cleveland Clinic Beachwood Family Health Center, contact 216.444.5600.
Download the current
Bladder Cancer Treatment Guide
Return to Current Issue
|
