Bladder Cancer Clinical Trials

The latest clinical trials for patients with bladder cancer.

If you’ve been diagnosed with bladder cancer, you want to know you’re receiving the best available care. At the Henry Ford Cancer Institute, our expert team offers the latest treatments, including bladder cancer clinical trials.

Because bladder cancer may not be diagnosed until it’s too late for surgery, some of our clinical trials investigate therapies that are designed to treat advanced cancer using emerging methods such as immunotherapy.

Our team can help you decide if you want to pursue a clinical trial and if there’s a trial that’s a good fit for you.

Clinical trials for bladder cancer

At Henry Ford, we offer clinical trials designed to treat every stage of bladder cancer. Many of these trials are focused on testing the effectiveness of one or more drugs. Our open trials include:

• New therapies for high-risk superficial bladder
• Use of targeted therapies for patients with advanced/metastatic tumors
• Chemoradiotherapy to treat localized muscle invasive bladder cancer

See all our open clinical trials for bladder cancer.

How bladder cancer clinical trials work

Bladder cancer trials proceed through phases. First, we determine if the approach is safe. Then we evaluate if it’s effective and works better than existing options. 

The goal of a clinical trial is to gain approval for a new diagnostic technique or treatment that will help as many people as possible. Participating in trials can give you early access to promising therapies. Assuming you’re eligible, joining a trial is voluntary and always your decision.

Clinical trials must follow strict guidelines set ahead of time and made clear to participants. They are approved and overseen by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), made up of doctors, scientists, statisticians and laypeople. The board ensures a reasonable balance between expected risk and benefit.

Participating in a bladder cancer clinical trial

To ensure the safety of participants and the usefulness of collected data, eligibility guidelines vary from trial to trial. Not everyone qualifies for a clinical trial.

Your Henry Ford bladder cancer team works with you and your loved ones to determine if you might benefit from a clinical trial and wish to participate. Team members will explain the process further, including the potential risks and benefits.