Immunotherapy can benefit high-risk bladder patients after surgery

According to clinical trial results, immunotherapy after surgery increased bladder cancer patients' chance of staying cancer-free compared to patients who received a placebo. Results of the study were shared at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Genitorurinary Cancers Symposium.
Co-Director of the Center of Excellence for Bladder Cancer at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, Matthew Galsky, MD, presented three-year follow-up results from the Phase 3 CheckMate 274 trial. Patients on trial had urothelial bladder or upper urinary tract cancer and tumour features indicating a high risk for recurrence.
Dr. Galsky said, “Adjuvant nivolumab became a standard of care based on the initial results of CheckMate 274. These results, showing patients' continued survival three years out, reinforce adjuvant nivolumab as a standard of care for patients with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer of the bladder or upper urinary tract. Normally, patients with this cancer face a high chance of recurrence, especially within the first three years after surgical removal of the bladder or kidney.”
Half of the 699 patients in the trial received nivolumab, and the other half received a placebo every two weeks for one year. Adjuvant nivolumab versus placebo was not associated with a detriment to the quality of life. This trial was conducted with support from Bristol Myers Squibb, the maker of the immunotherapy, in collaboration with ONO Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.