Page 3 - CUA-BCC _Brochure 2022

How is metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated?

Chemotherapy (drugs that kill cancer cells) is usually the first treatment offered in MUC. It is used to improve survival
and quality of life.

Some patients receive immunotherapy (a treatment that increases your own immune system’s ability to detect and
fight cancer) after the chemotherapy is finished.

Targeted therapy (drugs that target specific molecules on or inside cancer cells) is used in some patients who have
cancers with specific genetic changes. It is used after chemotherapy.

Antibody-drug conjugates are a new kind of treatment that combine an antibody that finds proteins made by
cancer cells with a drug that destroys those cancer cells.

You may also be offered radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy). This can have a variety of uses, including
reducing bone pain if your cancer has spread to your bones, and reducing urinary symptoms or bleeding. Radiation
therapy is only given to the bladder or the site where the cancer has spread to and is used to help minimize
symptoms caused by the cancer.

Surgery is sometimes (though rarely) used in patients with MUC. It is most often used to help control symptoms such as
bleeding or pain.

If a clinical trial is available for patients with MUC, you may choose to join it. Clinical trials are studies to determine
whether a new drug (or drugs) is better than the currently used drugs. If you join one, you won’t always know whether
you are getting the new drug or the currently used drugs, but you will receive excellent treatment either way.

What chemotherapy drugs are there?
The first choice of chemotherapy drug is usually cisplatin. You’re eligible for cisplatin treatment if you’re medically fit.
Finding out whether you are medically fit involves your doctor assessing certain factors about you including:
• Performance status (how well you perform activities of daily living)
• Kidney function
• Hearing capacity
• Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage that usually affects hands, feet, arms and legs)
• Heart function

If cisplatin can’t be used, carboplatin is usually used instead. Most people who can’t take
cisplatin can take carboplatin.