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Nature Reviews Urology 6, 582–583 (1 November 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrurol.2009.212

Bladder cancer: Brachytherapy-based bladder sparing alternative to cystectomy

Elie Antebi , Murugesan Manoharan & Mark S. Soloway

Radical cystectomy is considered the optimal therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer when a bladder preservation approach is not in the best interest of the patient; for example if transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and intravesical therapy have failed in patients with high-risk noninvasive (high-grade Ta–T1) or muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, radical cystectomy is associated with complication rates of 17–32% and 1–2% perioperative mortality, which are largely dependent on the patient's age and comorbidity.