Local doctors make bladder cancer breakthrough

SAN ANTONIO – Doctors from UT Health San Antonio have found a game changer to treat bladder cancer.

They published their findings, alongside partners across the country, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Doctors found that right after a tumor is removed, injecting a common chemotherapy drug called Gemcitabine into the bladder reduces cancer from coming back by 47%.

"Gemcitabine, particularly, is very safe and inexpensive. If done correctly and the medication is in the bladder, the side effects are minimal,” says UT Health urology surgeon Dr. Robert Svatek.

A local patient who participated in the clinical trial says six years later, his bladder cancer has not come back.

"It's very gratifying for my peace of mind, knowing that there's something like that. It's a big deal,” patient Harris Sterling says.

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 80,000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer last year.