An interventional study of HISA in Bladder Cancer, Bladder (Urothelial, Transitional Cell) Cancer Resectable (Pre-Cystectomy) and Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC), sponsored by CAMC Health System. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 89 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-14.
Sponsored by CAMC Health System · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this prospective pilot study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of using heated saline during bladder tumor surgery in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Can heated saline be given during bladder tumor removal surgery safely?
Does using heated saline keep the bladder tumor from coming back?
Researchers will compare the heated saline to room temperature saline to see if the heated saline works to prevent the bladder tumor from coming back.
Participants will:
Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) represents 75% of bladder cancer cases and recurs in up to 79% of patients. West Virginia carries disproportionately high bladder cancer incidence due to smoking, aging population, and occupational exposures. High recurrence requires frequent cystoscopy and intravesical therapy, creating a burden for rural Appalachian patients. New strategies to reduce recurrence and treatment are urgently needed.
Hyperthermic intravesical chemotherapy improves drug penetration and tumor cell sensitivity. However, the benefit of applying hyperthermic saline intraoperatively during resection of the bladder tumor is unknown. In this randomized, two-arm study, we will randomize 40 patients with low-risk appearing NMIBC to normothermic and hyperthermic saline irrigation during bladder tumor resection. Hyperthermic irrigation will be delivered at 42 ± 2° Celsius using the Stryker Thermaclear FluidSmart system. All patients will receive standard postoperative gemcitabine instillation. Follow-up visits will occur at 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months. The primary goal is feasibility, defined as 80% protocol adherence to hyperthermic irrigation. Secondary goals include safety, logistics, and patient retention. Additional outcomes include recurrence, adverse events, and patient-reported quality-of-life scores.
294 studies on the registry are indexed under Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Neoplasms; 126 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 62 across 231 interventional studies indexed under Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Neoplasms.
Browse Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Neoplasms studies →CAMC Health System is the lead sponsor of 47 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.
Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (40%) have results posted.
Compared within Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Neoplasms, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Urinary Bladder Neoplasms. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).
Your pathology report is the document that shows this.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Histologically or cytologically confirmed
The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).
Your pathology report is the document that shows this.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The control arm (no HISA) will consist of standard intraoperative care including bladder irrigation with normothermic saline during TURBT.
The intervention arm (HISA) will be treated in the same way as the control arm with the addition of administering hyperthermic (42.0 ± 2°C) intravesical saline during the TURBT.
Device: HISA
The intervention arm (HISA) will be treated in the same way as the control arm with the addition of administering hyperthermic (42.0 ± 2°C) intravesical saline during the TURBT. Bladder irrigation with 1g of gemcitabine will be delivered in the immediate postoperative setting. The Thermaclear FluidSmart Fluid management system (Stryker, MI) will be used to administer and irrigate the bladder with normothermic or hyperthermic intravesical saline during the TURBT.
Patient Recruitment
The primary outcome will be patient recruitment. Patient recruitment will be the number of patients recruited divided by the total number of eligible patients.
Time frame: one year
Protocol Adherence for HISA Treatment
Protocol adherence will be assessed per case. Full adherence is defined as: (1) assigned saline used; (2) temperature maintained at 42.0 ± 2.0°C for ≥80% of intended exposure; (3) delivery of hyperthermic saline occurred during the specified operative window, and (4) postoperative instillation of 1g gemcitabine for 60 minutes.
Time frame: one year
Incidence of HISA Treatment-related Complicatons, Adverse Events, and Readmission Rates
To assess postoperative complications, adverse events, and readmission rates at 30- and 90-days. Adverse events will be monitored during the study for up to 90 days for each patient, assessed and graded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.
Time frame: Three years
Overall Cancer-related Quality of Life and General Treatment Effects
Quality of life will be assessed at the preoperative visit and follow-up visits at 2-weeks, 3 months, and 6 months using the EORTC QLQ Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, version 3.0).
Time frame: From TURBT to 6 months after TURBT
Recurrence of NMIBC
The proportion of patients with recurrence of NMIBC will be determined. Recurrence will be defined as the percentage of patients with the reappearance of NMIBC tumor(s) within the bladder following transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). The event will be defined as the earliest date of recurrence as determined using the date of cystoscopy, biopsy, or cytology, whichever occurs first.
Time frame: From time of TURBT to 6 months after TURBT
Survival of NMIBC Patients
Survival will be defined as the percentage of patients who have survived after TURBT without any recurrence or death from any cause. The event will be defined as the length of time until cancer recurrence or death from any cause using the date of cystoscopy, biopsy, or death certificate date whichever occurs first.
Time frame: From time of TURBT to 6 months after TURBT
Patient Quality of Life Concerns and Symptoms of HISA Treatment of NMIBC
Quality of life will be assessed at the preoperative visit and follow-up visits at 2weeks, 3 months, and 6 months using the EORTC QLQ-NMIBC 24.
Time frame: From TURBT to 6 months after TURBT
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. The study includes sensitive health information, and even when data are de-identified, there is a small risk that participants could be identified. In addition, there are no current plans or resources to support data sharing agreements or external data requests. Summary results will be reported in publications instead.
Start is estimated for Aug 2026; primary completion for Feb 2028, 18 months later.
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jul 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Neoplasms →
CAMC Health System