Bladder Cancer: Dr. Boris Chertin Explores a Method That Could Help Avoid Surgery
Treatment for bladder cancer may soon become much less invasive. At the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, a crucial phase of clinical trials has been completed, which could significantly change the approach to treating dangerous tumors. A team of urologists, led by Dr. Boris Chertin, is investigating a new method that gives patients a chance to avoid complex organ removal surgery.
Instead of the usual exhausting procedures, doctors used a special therapeutic gel called NDV-01. Its main advantage is that the drug is injected directly into the affected area and then smoothly and evenly releases the necessary chemotherapeutic agents over the course of two weeks. This spares the patient from having to constantly return for repeated procedures. The treatment results were highly encouraging: after three months, tumors completely disappeared in 95 percent of the patients, and a year later, 76 percent of the trial participants felt well, with no recurrence of the disease.
Most importantly, the new approach worked even for those who no longer responded to standard treatments. Before the advent of this gel, such patients could only rely on surgery. However, thanks to the new drug, 80 percent of patients with complex cases were able to achieve sustained remission by the end of the year. The doctors also specifically emphasized that during the entire observation period, the disease did not progress to a more severe form or invade neighboring tissues in any of the participants. Seeing such success, the company Relmada Therapeutics has already begun preparing documents for the final stage of trials.
Such studies demonstrate how medicine is gradually trying to move away from heavy interventions in favor of gentler and more targeted treatments. For Israel, this means not only strengthening its authority in the scientific community but also having the opportunity to help many people who travel from other countries for treatment. The final word now belongs to the phase three trials—this will determine whether the drug is ready for mass production and routine clinical use.
