Farmer Inspires New Potential Bladder Cancer Treatment
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September marks the start of soybean harvest in Mankato, Minnesota, a busy time of year when farmers can't afford to be away from their fields for long. So, when Craig Smith, 66, began experiencing a burning sensation while urinating, he went to his family physician right away.
He was prescribed antibiotics, but his symptoms worsened. When Craig began to pass blood, his wife insisted that they drive straight to Mayo Clinic in Rochester — about an hour and a half away. There, Mayo Clinic physicians diagnosed him with metastatic urothelial cancer, or bladder cancer, which had spread to his spine.
Craig recalls receiving a phone call late that night from his Mayo Clinic doctor, who asked him if he wanted to just maintain his health for a few years or cure his cancer.
"I said, 'I'd like you to cure it,'" says Craig.
Seeking a Cure
Craig’s father had been a farmer, which was Craig’s dream too. But his father suggested he gain additional skills to supplement his farming income. Following his father's advice and encouragement from his high school welding teacher, Craig pursued his teaching certificate in welding. What he initially thought would be five or six years of teaching turned into a 45-year career developing welding programs at several local schools while also raising cattle and growing soybeans and corn on his 2,000-acre farm. Through his welding programs, he has trained several welders now employed by local manufacturing companies.
After his diagnosis in 2023, Craig took a hiatus from teaching and farming to focus on his cancer treatments at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, which included chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
Metastatic urothelial cancer that has spread beyond the bladder usually is considered incurable and inoperable. However, Craig responded well to chemotherapy and radiation to his spine, which made his oncologist, Jacob Orme, M.D., Ph.D., and urologist, Paras Shah, M.D., consider Craig for a new surgical approach to treatment.
Craig proceeded with the proposed surgery and had his bladder, prostate and 36 lymph nodes removed.
"In Mr. Smith's bladder, we found viable cancer cells that would have led to a relapse. Now, however, he is nearly two years from diagnosis and remains disease-free," says Dr. Shah.
Craig’s positive response to treatment and surgery has spurred a clinical trial testing this aggressive approach in other patients with bladder cancer. Currently, 17 participants are enrolled, and the results so far have been promising.
A Path Forward
Advances in cancer treatment, such as immunotherapy that harnesses the body's immune system to fight cancer and the identification of biomarkers in the blood or urine that show how well a patient is responding to treatment, are helping the physicians select who will benefit most from surgery.
"The impetus for this study is to attack the cancer from multiple approaches, including treatments that cover head to toe and treatments that are directed right at the source tumor," says Stephen Boorjian, M.D., who is the David and Anne Luther Chair of Urology at Mayo Clinic and a lead proponent of the study.
"We want to remove the root of the cancer after we've burned off the leaves," adds Dr. Orme.
A team of researchers, physicians and clinical trials staff expedited the clinical trial through an accelerated pathway called a Rapid Activation Trial. It's part of a larger effort at Mayo Clinic to launch new clinical trials swiftly and effectively.
"Shortening activation timelines allows us to make a difference to more patients and their families," says Michelle Monosmith, Mayo Clinic Office of Clinical Trials operations administrator.
The study is supported by a generous gift by Ronald J. and Carol T. Beerman to Mayo Clinic. Dr. Boorjian and Elisabeth Heath, M.D., chair of Oncology, are prioritizing this effort to achieve more cures for men and women with bladder cancer.
"Our only goal is to help our patients live better and longer," says Dr. Orme.
That's what Craig plans to do as he continues to farm, teach and spend time with his family.
A version of this story was published on Mayo Clinic News Network.
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