Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government

A Decision Tool for the Selection of Women with Localized Urothelial Bladder Cancer for Reproductive Organ Sparing Radical Cystectomy

Trial Status: active

This clinical trial studies whether a decision tool can be used to help select women with urothelial bladder cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body (localized) for reproductive organ sparing-radical cystectomy (ROS-RC). The current standard of care (SOC) for women with bladder cancer is radical cystectomy (RC). SOC-RC involves removing the bladder, pelvic lymph nodes, as well as reproductive organs including the anterior vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Routine removal of these reproductive organs has been associated with increased postoperative complications and can have many impacts on quality of life, including sexual health, mental decline, and depression. ROS-RC does not include the removal of the reproductive organs. The decision tool is a flow of standardized questions that the treating physician answers to decide which patients will or will not undergo ROS-RC. The treating physician uses a pelvic exam using two hands to feel the bladder (bimanual exam), an endoscopic examination of the urinary bladder (cystoscopy), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to answer the questions to the decision tool. The decision tool may help the treating physician identify women with localized urothelial bladder cancer at low risk of adjacent organ involvement who can then be selected to undergo ROS-RC. This may help improve quality of life.