High-Risk/BCG Naïve: Treatment of Choice
Michael A. O’Donnell, MD, discusses BCG’s role as the standard treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
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Michael A. O'Donnell, MD, FACS
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Michael A. O’Donnell, MD, FACS, earned his medical degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He completed his residency at Harvard Medical School and completed a clinical and research fellowship at the Whitehead Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Dr. O’Donnell is currently Richard D. Williams Chaired Professor of Urology and Director of Urologic Oncology at the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine.
Dr. O'Donnell's basic and clinical research has a long history of focusing on bladder immunology and bladder cancer immunotherapy, particularly the anti-cancer mechanisms of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and its enhancement with combination therapies. Dr. O'Donnell recently headed a national trial of bladder cancer treatment utilizing BCG plus interferon (a natural protein which induces healthy cells to combat disease) comprising more than 1,000 patients and holds several U.S. patents for his work. Dr. O'Donnell's laboratory and clinical studies seek to determine the exact mechanism by which BCG targets bladder cancer tumor cells and to enhance its efficacy, either alone or in combination with other agents, while reducing its toxicity to healthy cells. Dr. O'Donnell's research efforts also include exploration of methods to detect bladder cancer at earlier stages and new combination topical chemotherapy treatments for early bladder cancer. He has instituted two such methods, including a urinary FISH assay and the NMP-22 Bladder Check test in the urology clinic. He has pioneered several new sequential combination therapies involving adriamycin, gemcitabine, docetaxel, and mitomycin for treating BCG-resistant/recurrent bladder cancers.
Talks by Michael A. O'Donnell, MD, FACS