BCG Side Effects

  What, if any, are side-effects of BCG treatment for bladder cancer?

[hfhs M.D.-AK]

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Dear Vicky,
BCG or Bacillus of Calmette and Guerin, is an  attenuated, live culture preparation of Mycobacterium bovis.  It is approved for intravesical or percutaneous use.  It is commonly used for bladder cancer patients and has the best results of all the intravesical chemotherapeutics.  The freeze-dried BCG prep is delivered to the bladder by instilation through a foley catheter.
The overall response in patients is about 75% and is generally tolerated.  You ask specifically about side effects.  I consulted the PDR for the entire list.  In order of decreasing frequency: dysuria(burning with urination), urinary frequency, hematuria (blood in urine), cystitis(bladder infection), urgency, nocturia, cramps/pain, urinary incontinence, urinary debris, genital inflammation, UTI, urethritis, and several other all less than 1% of patients.
Other systemic symptoms include; flu-like symptoms, fever, malaise/fatigue, shaking chills and nausea vomiting.
I have listed many possible side effects and I don