- The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine has been in use for more than 80 years to combat tuberculosis.
- In the 1970s, it was found to be an effective immunotherapy treatment for early-stage bladder cancers.
- Since then, it has become one of the standard treatments for this cancer, administered directly into the bladder.
- A study has now found that it may have a beneficial side effect — people receiving this therapy seem to have a reduced risk of developing dementia.
According to the
The risk of bladder cancer increases with age. Around
At the time of diagnosis, half of all bladder cancers are noninvasive, with cancer cells only in the inner layer of the bladder wall. A common therapy for this early-stage cancer is intravesical immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG).
BCG is a non-pathogenic bacterium similar to that which causes tuberculosis (TB). It was
However, since the 1970s, it has been used successfully to
Now, a new study has found that this treatment is associated with a beneficial side effect. Patients receiving the treatment had a reduced risk of dementia and death compared with patients receiving alternative treatments.
The study is…
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