Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment option for patients with superficial bladder cancer uncontrolled by transurethral resection and/or intravesical bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy alone. We determined the efficacy and side effects of PDT in patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer.

Between April 1994 and July 2001, PDT was performed in 31 patients (23 men and 8 women). 5-Aminolevulinic acid (50 mL) in a 3% concentration was instilled intravesically. Patients were instructed to hold the solution as long as possible and were irradiated transurethrally with a mean light dose of 3.9 W using laser light emitting a wavelength of 633 nm for a mean time of 1260 seconds.

The mean patient age at the procedure was 70.2 years. At an average follow-up of 23.7 months (range 1 to 73), 16 patients were free of tumor recurrence; 15 patients had developed tumor recurrence after a mean of 8.3 months. Of 10 patients with prior BCG treatment, 4 were free of tumor recurrence. Treatment was well tolerated, with the only side effect being dysuria due to urinary tract infection in 4 patients and hematuria in 7 patients. No phototoxic skin reactions were observed.

PDT represents a safe, effective, and less-invasive treatment for patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer. Because of the favorable side-effect profile, PDT can also be applied to patients with comorbidity precluding surgical treatment. Furthermore, PDT represents a second-line treatment for patients with tumor recurrence after BCG failure.