The mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol announces his bladder cancer. Decryption with our oncologist

in collaboration with

Ivan Pourmir (medical oncologist)

In a long letter published on the networks, the mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol announces that he is affected by bladder cancer.

“Blame it on bad luck”

In this publication, the 47-year-old man explains that he discovered his illness at the beginning of 2022.I didn’t want to talk about it publicly before” he says. “This type of cancer generally affects older men, smokers or those who have worked in the hydrocarbon world. Not my profile. So I thought it was “the fault of bad luck”, a one-off event that would quickly be behind us. I don’t.”. Indeed, after more than two years of battle against illness and several interventions, the First Deputy Secretary of the Socialist Party and Mayor of Rouen continues his fight.

Three operations and three cycles of immunotherapy

Operated in February 2022, he underwent an initial immunotherapy for several months before being operated on again in April 2023, due to the recurrence of his tumor. After a second recurrence and a third operation last June, he will soon complete a third cycle of immunotherapy.which I hope will be the last” he writes.

Interviewed, Dr Ivan Pourmir explains that bladder cancer is often detected following the presence of blood in the urine, which in medical jargon is called “hematuria”. “When there is no reason to have blood in the urine – no urinary infection for example – and even more so if you are a man, rather elderly and a smoker, you should consult quickly a doctor”.

And when we talk about hematuria, the amount of blood in the urine is not necessarily important. “The urine will just be pink at first, but this is an important sign not to be overlooked.” adds the oncologist.

What are the tests and treatments?

The patient will first be taken for an exploratory examination of the bladder associated with an ultrasound. “We slide a camera into the bladder in order to visualize the possible presence of polyps, which can indicate the presence of cancer” explains Ivan Pourmir again. “In the presence of solid cancer, we always try to surgically remove the tumor. Then follow chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy, depending on the case”.

If unfortunately, the cancer has already metastasized (which is not the case with the mayor of Rouen, according to him), the surgery will not be carried out.

Immunotherapy using BCG instillation

Immunotherapy against bladder cancer is one of the first to have been developed, according to Ivan Pourmir. “It is still being carried out today. It consists of an instillation into the bladder of BCG, the bacillus Calmette Guérin, which is injected as a vaccine against tuberculosis“.

How to explain its action in the context of bladder cancer? “This is because it is an immunogenic vaccine. It therefore attracts immune cells to the place where the tumor is located in order to fight against the disease.

What is the prognosis for bladder cancer?

When caught in time, bladder cancer can be treated, sometimes with multiple attempts at immunotherapy. “But when it reaches the metastatic stage, bladder cancer has a poor prognosis.” indicates the oncologist. “In some cases, the bladder has been completely removed, with the consequences that we imagine on daily life”.

This cancer can also be serious before it gets to this stage. “Sometimes even when it is still at a localized stage, but has infiltrated a good part of the thickness of the bladder muscle. the cancer has already at that time, “the ability to send microscopic cells into the body, which will eventually metastasize in the future” concludes our expert.

But research is very active in the face of this cancer and the last world cancer congress ASCO 2024 reflected real progress on advanced forms of this cancer.

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