Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin treatment for superficial bladder tumours.

Intravesical instillations of Tokyo 172 strain BCG were given to 56 patients with superficial bladder cancer during the 24-month period after transurethral tumour resection as a prophylaxis against tumour recurrence. The recurrence rate of tumours was compared with that of historical controls. Results were estimated by the person-years method and there were statistically significant decreases in recurrent tumours following BCG therapy. Our results suggest that the intravesical Tokyo 172 strain BCG is effective and safe as a prophylaxis against the recurrence of superficial bladder tumours.