The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published draft guidance on the use of transurethral laser ablation for recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Although the evidence shows no major safety concerns with the procedure, NICE says current evidence on its efficacy is limited, and the intervention should only be used with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent, audit, or research.
Clinicians wishing to perform transurethral laser ablation for recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer are advised to inform the clinical governance leads in their NHS trusts and ensure that patients and carers understand the uncertainty about safety and efficacy.
Clinical outcomes should be audited and reviewed for all patients. NICE has identified relevant audit criteria and is developing an audit tool for use at local discretion. The tool will be available when the final guidance is published.
The recommendations are based on a review of published evidence from nine sources, which included six case series, two non-randomised comparative studies, and one case report.
The draft guidance is now open for public consultation. The closing date for receipt of comments is 18 April 2019. The target date for publication of the final guidance is July 2019.
