Comparison of Guidelines on Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (EAU, CUA, AUA, NCCN, NICE)

BACKGROUND: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) represents a considerably diverse patient group and the management of this complex disease is debatable. A number of panels from Europe and North America have convened on the topic and recently released guideline documents. OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to compare and contrast the NMIBC guideline recommendations from the EAU (Europe), CUA (Canada), NCCN (United States), AUA (United States), and NICE (United Kingdom). METHODS: All unabridged guideline documents were reviewed by the authors and comparisons were completed according to major topics in NMIBC. RESULTS: Despite a paucity of high level evidence regarding the majority of management topics in NMIBC, there was general agreement among the various guideline panels. Differences mainly centered on the categories of evidence synthesized and grades of recommendations. Each document offers a unique presentation of the available literature and guideline recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: The guidelines for NMIBC from the EAU, CUA, AUA, NCCN, and NICE provide considerable consensus regarding the management of this often difficult disease. Clinicians are encouraged to familiarize themselves with all of the guidelines in order to determine which style of presentation would be most useful to their current practice.