ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Reduces Lung Involvement in COVID-19 in Patients with Bladder Cancer
Received Date : 03 Jun 2022
Accepted Date : 13 Oct 2022
Available Online : 07 Nov 2022
Mehmet Serkan ÖZKENTa, Yunus Emre GÖGERb, Nurullah ALTINKAYAb, Mehmet ARTAÇc
aClinic of Urology, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Türkiye
bDepartment of Urology, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye
cDivision of Medical Oncology, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye
Doi: 10.37047/jos.2022-91733 - Article's Language: EN
J Oncol Sci. 2022;8(3):135-42
ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection, morbidity, and mortality rates of patients who did
not receive and received Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment because of bladder cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and
Methods: Patients who were followed up for bladder cancer between March 2019 and March 2021 were evaluated. Patients who underwent
intravesical BCG instillation (induction or maintenance) and those who did not receive BCG were divided into two groups. The characteristics
(age, gender, etc.) and COVID-19-related findings (symptoms, comorbidities, lung involvement, and need for patient admission) of the
patients were recorded and compared between the groups. Results: The present study included 215 patients (85 in Group 1; and 130 in Group
2). Demographic data were similar in both groups (body mass index, age, gender, comorbidities, etc.). COVID-19 incidence was similar in
both groups (18 patients in Group 1; 21 patients in Group 2; p: 0.350). The number of patients with COVID-19 treated in the hospital was
more in Group 1 than in Group 2 (14 patients in Group 1, 7 patients in Group 2, p: 0.006). However, lung involvement and dyspnea were significantly
lower in the intravesical BCG Group (p: 0.015; and p: 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Intravesical BCG instillation reduces the
morbidity associated with COVID-19. Therefore, the installation schemes should not be delayed due to the pandemic. The current study imparts
preliminary information about the importance of BCG vaccination studies against COVID-19.
Keywords: Bladder cancer; COVID-19; intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin; non-invasive bladder tumor; lung involvement; morbidity of COVID-19