Clinical Medicine Reviews in Oncology

Treatment strategies and outcome of bladder cancer depend on tumor progression. Non-muscle invasive urothelial cell carcinoma (NMI-UCC) is generally treated by transurethral resection (TUR). In addition, intravesical therapy is often followed to prevent the recurrence; however, its effect is not still enough. On the other hand, the prognosis of bladder cancer patients with muscle-invasive and/or metastatic tumors is poor, despite the availability of various therapies. Although radical cystectomy is the "gold standard" for patients with muscle-invasive disease, high frequency of recurrence and decreased quality of life are major disadvantages associated with this procedure. In recent years, various newly developed treatment strategies have progressed to clinical trials for the perioperative treatment of muscle-invasive cancer and for systematic therapy for advanced bladder cancer. Here, we review the current and emerging therapeutic strategies and discuss the recent clinical trials of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family- and anti-endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR)-based therapies.