Single, immediate postoperative instillation of chemotherapy in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials using different drugs

Single instillation intravesical chemotherapy after radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: current evidence and future directions

Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) accounts for 5% to 10% of urothelial carcinomas and two-thirds are high-grade at the time of diagnosis. The gold standard management of high-grade UTUC is radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Despite primary treatment, disease recurrence involves the bladder in 22% to 47% of cases. Single dose, postoperative intravesical chemotherapy (pIVC) is an adjunct to RNU to decrease bladder recurrences that is currently recommended in guidelines from the European Association of Urology, National Cancer Center Network, and American Urological Association. Two clinical trials, using single dose, postoperative intravesical mitomycin C or pirarubicin, have provided level 1 evidence to support the formation of these guidelines. Despite this evidence, pIVC utilization is reportedly low among urologists, ranging from 12% to 55% among three studies, with non-utilizers citing lack of supporting evidence, safety concerns, and clinical infrastructure as leading rationale. In the past 10 years, no additional trials on single dose pIVC have been completed and validated in systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Utilization of pIVC still has room for improvement and further studies on this subject are warranted to overcome the barriers to implementation. Herein, we describe the critical literature that supports guideline recommendations for single dose pIVC after RNU to understand efficacy, safety, practice patterns, and discuss the future directions of this treatment adjunct.

The prognosis and safety of continuous saline bladder irrigation in patients after transurethral resection of bladder tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative study

The prognosis and safety of continuous saline bladder irrigation (CSBI) after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURB) as an alternative method needs to be explored. A literature review and meta-analysis were performed by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library databases and original references of the included articles. PRISMA checklists were followed. We used the GRADEpro GDT to assess the certainty of evidence from the results of our meta-analysis. A total of eight articles including 1600 patients were studied. The results indicated that patients received CSBI after TURB had no statistical differences compared to the control group in the recurrence-free survival and progression-free survival. However, the CSBI group showed significant improvements compared to the control group in terms of the number of recurrences during follow-up and the period to first recurrence except for the number of tumor progression during follow-up. Furthermore, patients treated with CSBI did not show an inferior effect than those treated with immediate intravesical chemotherapy (IC) in respects of recurrence-free survival, progression-free survival, the number of recurrences during follow-up, the number of tumor progression during follow-up and the period to first recurrence. But the immediate IC group had a higher incidence than the CSBI group in terms of macrohematuria, micturition pain, frequency of urination, dysuria, retention and local toxicities. Patients treated with CSBI after TURB showed a significant improvement compared to the control group in terms of the number of recurrences during follow-up and the period to first recurrence. However, compared to immediate IC, CSBI did not show an inferior effect except for lower incidence of adverse reactions.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021247088.

Combined use of a 980‑nm diode laser and preoperative intravesical instillation of pirarubicin for the prevention of short‑term recurrence of non‑muscle invasive bladder cancer: A pilot study

At present, transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) is the main surgical method for treating non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), but its postoperative recurrence needs to be prevented. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a 980-nm diode laser combined with preoperative intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP) for the prevention of NMIBC recurrence. The data of 120 patients with NMIBC who underwent transurethral resection between May 2021 and July 2022 were retrospectively collected, and these patients were followed up. The patients were divided into four groups based on the surgical method used and preoperative intravesical instillation of THP as follows: i) 980-nm diode laser with THP (LaT); ii) 980-nm diode laser alone (La); iii) TURBT with THP (TUT); and iv) TURBT alone (TU). Clinicopathological variables, postoperative complications and short-term outcomes among the aforementioned groups were analyzed. The blood loss volume and the incidence of perforation and delayed bleeding were significantly lower in the LaT and La groups compared with those in the TUT and TU groups. The days of bladder irrigation, catheter extubation and postoperative hospitalization were significantly shorter in the LaT and La groups compared with the TUT and TU groups. The detection rate of suspicious lesions was significantly higher in the THP irrigation groups (LaT and TUT) compared with that in the saline irrigation groups (La and TU). Tumor diameter and number, 980-nm laser and THP irrigation were shown to be independent risk factors in the Cox regression analysis. In addition, the recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate of the LaT group was significantly higher than that of the other three groups. In conclusion, a 980-nm diode laser can effectively reduce intraoperative blood loss and the incidence of perforation, and accelerate postoperative recovery. Preoperative intravesical instillation of THP is conducive to identifying suspicious lesions. The combination of a 980-nm laser with preoperative THP intravesical instillation can significantly prolong RFS time.

Bladder cancer therapy using a conformationally fluid tumoricidal peptide complex

Partially unfolded alpha-lactalbumin forms the oleic acid complex HAMLET, with potent tumoricidal activity. Here we define a peptide-based molecular approach for targeting and killing tumor cells, and evidence of its clinical potential (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03560479). A 39-residue alpha-helical peptide from alpha-lactalbumin is shown to gain lethality for tumor cells by forming oleic acid complexes (alpha1-oleate). Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and computational simulations reveal a lipid core surrounded by conformationally fluid, alpha-helical peptide motifs. In a single center, placebo controlled, double blinded Phase I/II interventional clinical trial of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, all primary end points of safety and efficacy of alpha1-oleate treatment are reached, as evaluated in an interim analysis. Intra-vesical instillations of alpha1-oleate triggers massive shedding of tumor cells and the tumor size is reduced but no drug-related side effects are detected (primary endpoints). Shed cells contain alpha1-oleate, treated tumors show evidence of apoptosis and the expression of cancer-related genes is inhibited (secondary endpoints). The results are especially encouraging for bladder cancer, where therapeutic failures and high recurrence rates create a great, unmet medical need.

Low Risk of Severe Complications After a Single, Post-Operative Instillation of Intravesical Chemotherapy in Patients with TaG1G2 Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

EAU guidelines recommend a single instillation (SI) of intravesical chemotherapy (e.g. Mitomycin C) within 24 hours after transurethral resection of a bladder tumour (TURBT) in patients with low- to intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer without (suspected) bladder perforation or bleeding requiring bladder irrigation. However, remarkable variation exists in the use of SI. The risk of severe complications is likely to contribute to this variation, but evidence is limited.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the absolute severe complication and mortality risk after SI in low- and intermediate risk bladder cancer.

METHODS

In this observational, historic cohort study, data on 25,567 patients diagnosed with TaG1G2 urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC) between 2009 and 2018 who underwent TURBT were collected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Data were supplemented with information on cause of death and severe complications after cancer treatment by re-examining the electronic health records and the 14-day complication risk and the 30-day mortality risk were evaluated.

RESULTS

On average, 55% of patients had a SI after TURBT, varying from 0->80% between hospitals. The 30-day mortality risk was 0.02% and the 14-day risk of severe complications was 1.6%.

CONCLUSIONS

As the absolute risk of mortality and severe complications is very low, SI after TURBT can be considered a safe treatment in patients with low- to intermediate UBC without contraindications for SI. These results imply that a part of eligible patients is denied effective treatment.

Cationic amphiphilic drugs as potential anticancer therapy for bladder cancer

More effective therapy for patients with either muscle‐invasive or high‐risk non‐muscle‐invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) is an unmet clinical need. For this, drug repositioning of clinically approved drugs represents an interesting approach. By repurposing existing drugs, alternative anticancer therapies can be introduced in the clinic relatively fast, because the safety and dosing of these clinically approved pharmacological agents are generally well known. Cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs) dose‐dependently decreased the viability of a panel of human UCB lines in vitro. CADs induced lysosomal puncta formation, a hallmark of lysosomal leakage. Intravesical instillation of the CAD penfluridol in an orthotopic mouse xenograft model of human UCB resulted in significantly reduced intravesical tumor growth and metastatic progression. Furthermore, treatment of patient‐derived ex vivo cultured human UCB tissue caused significant partial or complete antitumor responses in 97% of the explanted tumor tissues. In conclusion, penfluridol represents a promising treatment option for bladder cancer patients and warrants further clinical evaluation.

New Roadmaps for Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer With Unfavorable Prognosis

About 70% of bladder cancers (BCs) are diagnosed as non-muscle-invasive BCs (NMIBCs), while the remaining are muscle-invasive BCs (MIBCs). The European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines stratify NMIBCs into low, intermediate, and high risk for treatment options. Low-risk NMIBCs undergo only the transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB), whereas for intermediate-risk and high-risk NMIBCs, the transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) with or without Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immune or chemotherapy is the standard treatment. A minority of NMIBCs show unfavorable prognosis. High-risk NMIBCs have a high rate of disease recurrence and/or progression to muscle-invasive tumor and BCG treatment failure. The heterogeneous nature of NMIBCs poses challenges for clinical decision-making. In 2020, the EAU made some changes to NMIBCs BCG failure definitions and treatment options, highlighting the need for reliable molecular markers for improving the predictive accuracy of currently available risk tables. Nowadays, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized the study of cancer biology, providing diagnostic, prognostic, and therapy response biomarkers in support of precision medicine. Integration of NGS with other cutting-edge technologies might help to decipher also bladder tumor surrounding aspects such as immune system, stromal component, microbiome, and urobiome; altogether, this might impact the clinical outcomes of NMBICs especially in the BCG responsiveness. This review focuses on NMIBCs with unfavorable prognoses, providing molecular prognostic factors from tumor immune and stromal cells, and the perspective of urobiome and microbiome profiling on therapy response. We provide information on the cornerstone of immunotherapy and new promising bladder-preserving treatments and ongoing clinical trials for BCG–unresponsive NMIBCs.

Low compliance to guidelines in nonmuscle-invasive bladder carcinoma: A systematic review

PURPOSE

This systematic review assessed compliance to guidelines for the management of nonmuscle-invasive bladder carcinoma (NMIBC).

METHODS

The PUBMED, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases were searched in November 2019 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis statement.

RESULTS

Fifteen studies incorporating a collective total of 10,575 NMIBC patients were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. We found that the rates of compliance were 53.0% with a single immediate intravesical instillation in patients with presumed low or intermediate risk, 37.1% with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin or chemotherapy in those with intermediate risk, 43.4% with performance of a second transurethral resection in high-risk patients, 32.5% with administration of adjuvant intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin in high-risk patients, 36.1% with radical cystectomy in highest-risk patients, and 82.2% with cystoscopy for follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Compliance with NMIBC guidelines remains low. Better guideline education and understanding holds the key to achieving high compliance. Strategies to improve guideline compliance at the physician level are urgently required.

Bladder cancer therapy without toxicity-A dose-escalation study of alpha1-oleate

Potent chemotherapeutic agents are required to counteract the aggressive behavior of cancer cells and patients often experience severe side effects, due to tissue toxicity. Our study addresses if a better balance between efficacy and toxicity can be attained using the tumoricidal complex alpha1-oleate, formed by a synthetic, alpha-helical peptide comprising the N-terminal 39 amino acids of alpha-lactalbumin and the fatty acid oleic acid. Bladder cancer was established, by intravesical instillation of MB49 cells on day 0 and the treatment group received five instillations of alpha1-oleate (1.7-17 mM) on days 3 to 11. A dose-dependent reduction in tumor size, bladder size and bladder weight was recorded in the alpha1-oleate treated group, compared to sham-treated mice. Tumor markers Ki-67, Cyclin D1 and VEGF were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner, as was the expression of cancer-related genes. Remarkably, toxicity for healthy tissue was not detected in alpha1-oleate-treated, tumor-bearing mice or healthy mice or rabbits, challenged with increasing doses of the active complex. The results define a dose-dependent therapeutic effect of alpha1-oleate in a murine bladder cancer model.

Safety and efficacy of intensive instillation of low-dose pirarubicin vs. bacillus Calmette-Guérin in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensive intravesical instillation of low-dose pirarubicin (THP) for 6 times vs. bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) without maintenance therapy after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) in patients with primary high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated 370 patients with primary high-risk NMIBC who underwent TURBT from November 1993 to April 2019. The patients were divided into 2 groups: patients treated with intravesical instillation of BCG without maintenance therapy (BCG group) and intensive intravesical instillation of low-dose (20 mg) THP for 6 times within 10 days after TURBT (THP group). Safety was assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Background-adjusted multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of intensive intravesical instillation of low-dose THP on oncological outcomes, including intravesical recurrence-free survival (RFS), upper urinary tract RFS, muscle-invasive bladder cancer-free survival, metastasis-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival.

RESULTS

Of the 370 patients with primary high-risk NMIBC, 180 (49%) and 190 (51%) were stratified into the BCG and THP groups, respectively. The incidence rate of adverse events of any grade in the BCG group was significantly higher than that in the THP group (P < 0.001). In the background-adjusted multivariate analyses, no significant differences were observed in oncological outcomes between the BCG and THP groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensive intravesical instillation of low-dose THP for 6 times may be one of the treatment options in view of safety and efficacy after TURBT in patients with primary high-risk NMIBC.

Thermal Intravesical Chemotherapy Reduce Recurrence Rate for Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer accounts for nearly 80% of newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases, which often recur and progress. This meta-analysis was evaluated by the adverse events and recurrence rate of thermal intravesical chemotherapy vs. normal temperature intravesical chemotherapy in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Methods: A systematic review and cumulative analysis of studies reporting adverse events and recurrence rate of thermal intravesical chemotherapy vs. normal temperature intravesical chemotherapy was performed through a comprehensive search of Pubmed, Embase, Cochranelibrary.com, CNKI, Wanfang Med Online database and VIP database. All analyses were performed using the Revman manager 5. Result: Twelve studies (11 randomized controlled trials and 1 retrospective study) including 888 patients, 445 in the thermal intravesical chemotherapy group, and 443 in the normal temperature intravesical chemotherapy group, met the eligibility criteria. Patients in the thermal intravesical chemotherapy group had a lower risk of disease recurrence than those who had normal temperature intravesical chemotherapy (24 months follow-up group: RR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.21-0.43, P < 0.00001, I ² = 0%; 36 months follow-up group: RR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.14-0.54, P = 0.0002, I ² = 0%) while no significant difference in adverse events rate (RR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.53-1.52; P = 0.67, I ² = 78%). Conclusions: When compared with normal temperature intravesical chemotherapy, thermal intravesical chemotherapy can reduce the recurrence rate without increasing incidence of adverse events in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Dual Inhibition of Pirarubicin-Induced AKT and ERK Activations by Phenformin Sensitively Suppresses Bladder Cancer Growth

Activations of Akt or ERK pathway induced by clinical drugs promote therapeutic failure due to decrease of drug response, and no available strategies have been developed to solve these problems. In this study, we found that pirarubicin (THP), one important chemotherapeutic drug for treating bladder cancer intravesically, dramatically elevated phosphorylations of both Akt and Erk1/2 in addition to inducing DNA damage. MK2206 or AZD6244, representative Akt and Erk1/2 inhibitors, respectively, profoundly sensitized bladder cancer cells to THP treatment. Interestingly, we found that inhibition of a single arm of either Akt or Erk1/2 pathway would induce the increase of another arm, indicating the existence of the crosstalk between these two pathways. Thus, simultaneous suppression of both signals may be needed for increasing the sensitivity of THP. On the other hand, we revealed that phenformin efficiently inhibited both Akt and Erk1/2 phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrated that phenformin, mimicking dual inhibitors, plays dramatically synergistic action with THP both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that combination therapy of THP with dual inhibitors may constitute a successful strategy for improving chemotherapy response.

Optimizing pharmacokinetics of intravesical chemotherapy for bladder cancer

Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) remains one of the most common malignancies and is associated with considerable treatment costs. Patients with intermediate-risk or high-risk disease can be treated with intravesical BCG, but many of these patients will experience tumour recurrence, despite adequate treatment. Standard of care in these patients is radical cystectomy with urinary diversion, but this approach is associated with considerable morbidity and lifestyle modification. As an alternative, perioperative intravesical chemotherapy is recommended for low-risk papillary NMIBC, and induction intravesical chemotherapy is an option for patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC and BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. However, poor pharmaceutical absorption and drug washout during normal voiding can limit sustained drug concentrations in the urothelium, which reduces efficacy, and small-molecule chemotherapeutic agents can be absorbed through the urothelium into the bloodstream, leading to systemic adverse effects. Several novel drug delivery methods - including hyperthermia, mechanical sustained released devices and nanoparticle drug conjugation - have been developed to overcome these limitations. These novel methods have the potential to be combined with established chemotherapeutic agents to change the paradigm of NMIBC treatment.

Efficacy of intra-arterial chemotherapy combined with intravesical chemotherapy in T1G3 bladder cancer when compared with intravesical chemotherapy alone after bladder-sparing surgery: a retrospective study

PURPOSE

To assess the efficacy of intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) combined with intravesical chemotherapy (IVC) in T1G3 bladder cancer (Bca) after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT).

METHODS

Our study retrospectively reviewed 200 patients with T1G3 BCa who had all undergone TURBT. The patients' medical records were divided into two groups, one group only had IVC with pirarubicin after surgery, and the other group had IAC (cisplatin and epirubicin) combined with IVC after surgery. The patients were monitored regularly by urine cytology and cystoscopy. Survival and recurrence curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Tumor recurrence, progression and tumor-specific death rate were compared with Chi-square test. A multivariate analysis was carried out to find out potential confounders.

RESULTS

A total of 200 medical record was analyzed, 131 patients received IVC, 69 IAC + IVC treatment, tumor-specific death rate between the combined IAC and IVC compared to IVC alone was 7.25 and 17.6%, respectively (p < 0.05); the tumor recurrence rate between the two groups was 31.8% (22/69) and 44.3%, respectively (58/131) (p < 0.05), and tumor recurred later in the IAC + IVC group (p < 0.05), tumor progression rate was 18.8% (13/69) and 28.2% (37/131), respectively, with p < 0.05. Overall survival was longer in IAC + IVC group (p < 0.05). Using the multivariable regression model, IAC was significantly related to disease recurrence (p < 0.05) and overall survival (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

T1G3 BCa post-TURBT surgery patients who underwent IAC combined with IVC had a longer overall survival and increased time interval to first recurrence, lower tumor recurrence rate, progression rate and tumor-specific death rate than compared with those who only underwent IVC alone.

Advances in risk stratification of bladder cancer to guide personalized medicine

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease that poses unique challenges to the treating clinician. It can be limited to a relatively indolent papillary tumor with low potential for progression beyond this stage to muscle-invasive disease prone to distant metastasis. The former is best treated as conservatively as possible, whereas the latter requires aggressive surgical intervention with adjuvant therapies in order to provide the best clinical outcomes. Risk stratification traditionally uses clinicopathologic features of the disease to provide prognostic information that assists in choosing the best therapy for each individual patient. For bladder cancer, this informs decisions regarding the type of intravesical therapy that is most appropriate for non-muscle-invasive disease or whether or not to administer neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to radical cystectomy. More recently, tumor genetic sequencing data have been married to clinical outcomes data to add further sophistication and personalization. In the next generation of risk classification, we are likely to see the inclusion of molecular subtyping with specific treatment considerations based on a tumor’s mutational profile.

Prospective randomized controlled trial of postoperative early intravesical chemotherapy with pirarubicin (THP) for solitary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer comparing single and two-time instillation

PURPOSE

Single immediate intravesical instillation of chemotherapy after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) has been the gold standard treatment for patients with low- and intermediate-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Herein, we conducted a multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial in Japan, comparing recurrence-free survival between single and two-time instillation of pirarubicin (THP) for solitary NMIBC.

METHODS

Between 2005 and 2009, 257 patients with solitary NMIBC were enrolled and randomized to single instillation of THP (30 mg/50 mL) immediately after TURBT (Group A) or two-time instillation of THP immediately after and 1 day after TURBT (Group B). The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival. Secondary endpoints included rates of recurrence and adverse effects, including hematuria, micturition pain, difficult urination, pollakiuria, systemic symptoms, and other complications. This study was registered as UMIN C000000266.

RESULTS

Of 257 patients, 99 in Group A and 102 in Group B could be evaluated for recurrence. Median follow-up was 71 months. The overall recurrence rate was 39 and 31%, respectively (p = 0.2704). Although the 5-year recurrence-free survival rates were 55.9% and 67.7% in groups A and B, respectively, the difference between groups was not significant (p = 0.2031). No significant differences in adverse effects were observed between groups, except for pollakiuria (7 vs 22%, p = 0.0031). Multivariate analyses did not show that the treatment group was a significant risk factor for bladder cancer recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative two-time intravesical instillation of THP was not superior to single immediate instillation for preventing recurrence after complete resection of a solitary NMIBC.

Lidocaine enhances the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs against bladder cancer

This study aimed to investigate whether lidocaine, alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, inhibits the growth of human bladder cancer cells in vitro and orthotopically transplanted bladder tumors in vivo. The effects of lidocaine (1.25, 2.5 or 5 mg/mL), mitomycin C (MMC, 0.66 mg/mL), pirarubicin (0.75 mg/mL) and Su Fu’ning lotion (SFN, 0.0625 mg/mL) on the proliferation of human bladder cancer (BIU-87) cells were studied using the MTT assay. A Balb/c nude mouse model of bladder cancer was developed by orthotopic transplantation of BIU-87 cells, and the effects of intravesical instillation of lidocaine and MMC on bladder wet weight (a measure of tumor size) and survival (over 60 days) were studied. Lidocaine inhibited proliferation of BIU-87 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and (when given in combination) enhanced the actions of each of the other antiproliferative agents. In tumor-bearing mice, MMC alone had no effect on mean survival or bladder wet weight. However, the combination of 0.66 mg/mL MMC and 5 mg/mL lidocaine prolonged survival (from 34.62 ± 6.49 to 49.30 ± 6.72 days; n = 8, P < 0.05) and reduced bladder wet weight (from 68.94 ± 53.61 to 20.26 ± 6.07; n = 8, P < 0.05). Intravesical instillation of lidocaine combined with other chemotherapeutic agents potentially could be an effective therapy for bladder cancer.

Overexpression of PTK6 predicts poor prognosis in bladder cancer patients

Protein tyrosine kinase 6 (PTK6) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase and works as an oncogene in various cancers. Recently, PTK6 has been used as a therapeutic target for breast cancer patients in a clinical study. However, the prognostic value of PTK6 in bladder cancer (BC) remains vague. Therefore, we retrieved 3 independent investigations of Oncomine database and found that PTK6 is highly expressed in BC tissues compared with corresponding normal controls. Similar results were also observed in clinical specimens at both mRNA and protein levels. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that PTK6 overexpression was highly related to the T classification, N classification, grade, recurrence, and poor prognosis of BC patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated that when PTK6 expression was knocked down by siRNAs, cell proliferation and migration were considerably inhibited in BC cell lines T24 and EJ. By these approaches, we are intended to elucidate PTK6 may be a reliable therapeutic target in BC and might benefit from PTK6 inhibitors in the future.