| Summary: | Non-muscle (superficial) invasive bladder cancer accounted for about 6% of all cancers in Canada in 2008. To treat this condition, systemic drug delivery to the bladder is generally ineffective as the bladder's wall prevents therapeutic substances from diffusing through. Intravesical therapy delivers drugs through a catheter directly into the bladder and is therefore more effective, but still faces limitations resulting in the need for a high frequency of instillations among other issues. Furthermore, superficial bladder cancer has a high recurrence rate. In 2006, the condition was reported to cost $65,158 per patient on average in the U.S., largely as a result of complications and surveillance of recurrence. In the last two decades, the use of electromotive force has emerged as an option to increase diffusion of drugs into the bladder. Electromotive drug administration (EDMA) has shown some potential in treatment of various bladder conditions such as detrusor overactivity and bladder pain syndrome, conditions that face similar drug-delivery challenges to bladder cancer. However Canadian guidelines on treatment for bladder cancer issued in 2010 did not find enough evidence to provide recommendations on this therapy. The aim of this review is to examine the evidence regarding the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of using EDMA to treat superficial bladder cancer
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