Press release - Oslo, Norway, December 1, 2023: Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), The
Bladder Cancer Company, announces that new evidence from routine clinical
practice in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system was presented at the
24[th] Annual Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) meeting demonstrating a
significantly reduced risk of tumor recurrence (33%) in non-muscle invasive
bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients who received Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC[®])
compared to patients who only underwent standard White Light Cystoscopy (WLC).
The abstract and Poster entitled "Comparing white light versus blue light
cystoscopy recurrence outcomes among non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients
in an equal access setting: a propensity scored matched analysis" was presented
on Thursday, November 30, by Sanjay Das, MD. The data presented stemmed from
data in patients treated within the Veteran Affairs Healthcare System (VA HCS)
that underwent BLC or WLC for NMIBC.*
Methodology: a total of 337 BLC recipients were first identified and compared to
337 WLC recipients using 1:1 propensity score matching. The cohorts
predominantly were high-grade patients (64%) treated with the current standard
of care, including adequate BCG treatment when appropriate. The study used the
Kaplan-Meier method to estimate event-free survival and Cox regression to
determine the association between the type of cystoscopy (BLC vs. WLC) and
recurrence.
The authors concluded that overall, the risk of recurrence was significantly
lower following use of BLC (Hazard Ratio 0.67