Railroad workers have an elevated risk of getting bladder cancer because of workplace exposures which have been linked to bladder cancer. Railroad engineers, conductors, mechanics, electricians, carmen, machine operators, trackmen, welders, and other crafts have been regularly exposed to diesel exhaust, welding fumes, chemicals and certain solvents which increase the risk of all different types of cancer, including bladder cancer.
Over the years, the railroad cancer lawyers at Doran and Murphy have successfully represented hundreds of railroad workers in bladder cancer cases against railroads brought under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA). As with other types of cancer, early cancer detection is the key–the chances of successful cancer treatment go way up when cancer is caught early! Unfortunately, bladder cancer and, specifically, a certain type of bladder cancer known as urothelial carcinoma, often recurs after initial diagnosis and successful treatment.
The most common treatments for bladder cancer when caught early are:
- A surgery known as transurethral bladder resection bladder tumor (TURBT),
- Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and
- chemotherapy.
Early-stage bladder cancer, also known as “superficial” or “non-muscle invasive” bladder cancer is more treatable because the cancer cells are only on the lining of the bladder and have not spread into any of the muscles which make up the bladder. The goal is always to treat bladder cancer before it invades the muscle to help ensure a more successful outcome. In cases of recurrent bladder cancer, one often recommended treatment is a radical cystectomy, which involves the surgical removal of the bladder. This is a highly invasive, life-changing surgery, which carries with it the increased risk of surgical complications and even death. For this reason, many people want to avoid this surgery, even though it can offer the chance of a cure. Thankfully, it appears there may be a new treatment on the way which could change the way recurrent bladder cancer is treated in the future.
A study published in July 2025 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology highlighted the problem of bladder cancer recurrence. The study noted that a large number of patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer “experience disease recurrence (12%-60%) or progression (2%-15%) within 1 year after standard-of-care transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment, often leading to BCG-unresponsive disease.”¹ These high cancer recurrence and progression numbers are scary for anyone with cancer, as well as for their loved ones.
The published study highlighted the early results from a new clinical study known as “SunRISe-1.” This study was conducted at 144 cancer centers all over the world. As part of the clinical study, 85 patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer were treated with a small, pretzel-shaped device known as TAR-200. The TAR-200 was purposely designed like a pretzel to slowly deliver gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug, through a catheter into the bladder. The TAR-200 gradually releases the gemcitabine over a three-week period, as opposed to the traditional method of gemcitabine delivery which only lasts for a period of a few hours.
The findings of the study were striking: the bladder cancer disappeared in 70 out of the 85 patients involved in the clinical study, which translates to a success rate of 82%! The lead author of the study, Dr. Siamak Daneshmand, felt the success of the slow-release TAR-200 system was likely the key: “the theory behind this study was that the longer the medicine sits inside the bladder, the more deeply it would penetrate the bladder and the more cancer it would destroy…And it appears that having the chemotherapy released slowly over weeks rather than in just a few hours is a much more effective approach.”²
While this study has some limitations, such as the small number of patients involved, the early results show incredible promise and may change the way recurrent cancer is treated in the future. Insertion of the TAR-200 device is much less invasive compared to a radical cystectomy procedure. Looking to the future, the patients in this clinical trial will to be followed and ongoing clinical trials will investigate whether these treatment results are as promising as they currently seem.
The railroad cancer lawyers at Doran and Murphy are here for railroad workers with cancer and their families. Under the FELA, railroad workers and their families are entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, wage loss, and medical expenses. Call us today at 1-800-374-2144 or email us here to speak with us for a free initial consultation and learn about your rights to compensation!
¹Siamak Daneshmand, MD et al. “TAR-200 for Bacillus Calmette-Guerin– Unresponsive High-Risk Non–Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Results From the Phase IIb SunRISe-1 Study.” Journal of Clinical Oncology, Published July 30, 2025.
²Sci Tech Daily by Keck Medicine of USC, November 8, 2025
