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Bladder Cancer Research

Dedication to Bladder Cancer Research and Discovery

The University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center is dedicated to cancer research and discovery. That includes bladder cancer, which impacts roughly 80,000 adults in the United States each year.

Year-round, our physicians and other scientists work to develop new and better methods to detect and treat bladder cancer. Our goal is to improve our patients’ quality and length of life. Collectively, the Rogel Cancer Center’s mission is to reduce the cancer burden and improve cancer outcomes through research, innovation, collaboration, education, outreach and engagement.

Bench to Bedside Cancer Treatment Philosophy

The Rogel Cancer Center’s focus on research and clinical trials includes translational research, which means our discoveries in the lab directly improve the care we deliver to our patients at the bedside.

For bladder cancer, recent research has concentrated on analyzing the DNA of each patient’s bladder cancer in order to personalize and improve the effectiveness of treatment. We are also involved in a multi-center study on the success of traditional surgery versus robotic surgery.

Our providers are continually exploring new methods to treat the disease without removing the bladder, as well as ways to make surgeries less invasive, so recovery is faster and less disruptive to patients’ lives.

On the medical side, our teams are developing new chemotherapies to advance the standard of care for slowing aggressive bladder cancer that has spread, or metastasized. We are also investigating immunotherapy treatments, in which a patient’s own immune system is used to help fight bladder cancer.

Clinical Trial Opportunities Available

The Rogel Cancer Center’s bench to bedside philosophy offers exclusive opportunities for our patients to participate in one of our clinical trials. Our physicians and other scientists are continually conducting clinical trials, so we have extensive experience selecting the right trial for each person.

Participating in a clinical trial may offer you access to the most advanced treatments not widely available anywhere else. In addition to possibly receiving these treatments, participation provides the opportunity to contribute to advancements in treatments for all patients – including those who will be treated in the future.

Ask a Question or Schedule an Appointment with the Bladder Cancer ClinicToday

Collectively, we are harnessing the power of one of the largest, most robust and highly esteemed research universities in the world to create new knowledge about cancer.

Our Cancer AnswerLine™ is staffed by oncology nurses who can answer your questions or assist you in making an appointment. Please call 800-865-1125 to get the appointment process started, or for answers to your questions. Or, visit our Bladder Cancer Appointments page.