3 CASES OF ARTHRITIS AFTER BCG THERAPY FOR BLADDER-CANCER

The authors report three cases of arthritis occurring after treatment with BCG immunotherapy for bladder disease. This complication is obser ved in 0.5 to 1% of treated patients and affects the small joints with in 1 to 5 months of the first BCG injection. The clinical outcome is f avorable with non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. This form of arthr itis may be attributable to a cross-reaction between antigenic compone nts of cartilaginous proteoglycan and BCG, influenced by a particular HLA-DR pattern, and with the intervention of a hear shock protein.