Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, and Ian D. Davis, MBBS, PhD, on ANZUP: Taking a Multidisciplinary Approach to Prostate, Kidney, Bladder, Testicular, and Penile Cancers
Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Ian D. Davis, MBBS, PhD, of Monash University and Eastern Health, discuss the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group, working globally to speed clinical research in and treatment of urogenital cancers.
Adverse Events and Outcomes in Patients Receiving Anti–PD-1/PD-L1 Antibody Treatment for Advanced Urothelial Cancer
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maher et al found that treatment-related adverse events of special interest and immune-mediated adverse events were more common among patients with advanced urothelial cancer with vs without response to anti–programmed cell death...
Brian C. Baumann, MD, on Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer: Adjuvant Radiotherapy After Radical Cystectomy
Brian C. Baumann, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses study findings suggesting postoperative radiotherapy may be an option for patients with locally advanced bladder cancer after radical cystectomy who are unable or unwilling to use adjuvant chemotherapy (Abstract 4507).
Matt D. Galsky, MD, on Urothelial Cancer: Pembrolizumab vs Placebo After First-Line Chemotherapy
Matt D. Galsky, MD, of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses phase II study findings that show switch maintenance with pembrolizumab significantly improves progression-free survival in the metastatic setting (Abstract 4504).
Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, on Urothelial Carcinoma: Adding Bevacizumab to Gemcitabine and Cisplatin
Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses results from the phase III Alliance trial, which showed that adding bevacizumab to gemcitabine and cisplatin did not improve overall survival in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma, but did improve progression-free survival (Abstract 4503).
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, and Thomas W. Flaig, MD, on Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Predicting Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah Health Care, and Thomas W. Flaig, MD, of the University of Colorado, discuss phase II findings on a novel predictive biomarker of response to the two accepted neoadjuvant regimens for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: methotrexate/vinblastine/doxorubicin/cisplatin and gemcitabine/cisplatin (Abstract 4506).
Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, on Urothelial Cancer: Enfortumab Vedotin Monotherapy for Locally Advanced or Metastatic Disease
Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, of Yale School of Medicine, discusses study results on enfortumab vedotin monotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer previously treated with platinum and immune checkpoint inhibitors (Abstract LBA4505).
2019 ASCO: Enfortumab Vedotin Shows Activity in Previously Treated, Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer
The single-arm, phase II EV-201 trial showed treatment with enfortumab vedotin—an agent targeting Nectin-4, a protein found in 97% of urothelial cancers—produced responses in 44% of patients with locally advanced or metastatic forms of urothelial cancer. Patients had previously been...
CheckMate 032: Extended Follow-up of Nivolumab and Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Cohorts in Previously Treated Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sharma et al, follow-up of the cohort receiving nivolumab at 1 mg/kg plus ipilimumab at 3 mg/kg the phase I/II CheckMate 032 trial showed the regimen produced high levels of activity in platinum-treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic ...
Erdafitinib for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
On April 12, 2019, erdafitinib was granted accelerated approval for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) or FGFR2 genetic alterations, when the disease has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
2019 Updates to NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Genitourinary Oncology
The 24th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) was held this past March in Orlando, Florida. Updates to a number of Clinical Practice Guidelines (NCCN Guidelines®) were reported, including three relevant to the field of genitourinary oncology: kidney cancer,...
Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab Shows Activity in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
THE COMBINATION of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab has demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with advanced urothelial cancer, including patients receiving later-line treatment. Results of a phase Ib/II trial showed an objective response rate of 25% and a median progression-free survival of 5.4...
Sacituzumab Govitecan Shows Activity in Heavily Pretreated Bladder Cancer
PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE suggests that the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan is active in patients previously treated with chemotherapy or checkpoint inhibitor therapy for metastatic urothelial cancer. These results from a phase I/II basket study of this agent were presented at the 2019...
Adjuvant Sequential Chemotherapy Plus Radiotherapy vs Radiotherapy Alone for Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer
A phase III Egyptian trial presented by Mohamad S. Zaghloul, MD, et al at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium focused on the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer treated with postoperative radiotherapy.1 Researchers compared postoperative...
New Drugs and Novel Indications for Genitourinary Cancers, FDA Approved 2017–2019
May 14, 2019: Avelumab (Bavencio) plus axitinib (Inlyta) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). April 19, 2019: Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus axitinib (Inlyta) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). April 12,...
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: 2019 Updates
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), covering eight tumor types. NCCN Guidelines are now published for more than 70 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates for 2019 were presented...
A Year in Review
The past year has seen groundbreaking advances in the treatment of genitourinary (GU) cancers, which in some cases are resulting in altering the standard of care for patients with renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, and urothelial carcinoma. Some of the biggest changes that have occurred are for ...
Does Quitting Smoking Affect Risk of Bladder Cancer in Postmenopausal Women?
A large study of postmenopausal women indicated that quitting cigarette smoking was associated with significantly reduced risk of bladder cancer. The most significant reduction in risk occurred in the first 10 years after quitting, with a modest but continued decline in later years. These results...
Ultradeep Sequencing of Plasma Cell-Free DNA in Bladder Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Christensen et al found that identification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by ultradeep sequencing of plasma cell-free DNA was highly prognostic for outcome in bladder cancer and permitted early detection of relapse. The study...
AUA 2019: Studies Highlight Potential Bladder Cancer Risks
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), exposure to certain environmental factors, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may increase the risk of developing bladder cancer, according to new data presented this week at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). The...
AUA 2019: OLYMPUS Trial Assesses Mitomycin Gel in Low-Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma
Findings from a secondary analysis of the phase III OLYMPUS trial were presented by Kleinmann et al during the Plenary Session at the 2019 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA-16). Results showed that instillation of UGN-101, an investigational formulation of mitomycin ...
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Erdafitinib for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
On April 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to erdafitinib (Balversa) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations that has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Erdafitinib for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to erdafitinib (Balversa) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations that has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab Shows Activity in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
THE COMBINATION of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab has demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with advanced urothelial cancer, including patients receiving later-line treatment. Results of a phase Ib/II trial showed an objective response rate of 25% and a median progression-free survival of 5.4...
Expert Point of View: Matthew J. Milosky, MD
FORMAL STUDY discussant Matthew J. Milosky, MD, of the University of North Carolina, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, said there had been few drug approvals in advanced bladder cancer until 5 new checkpoint inhibitors were approved over the past 2 years. “Although these agents...
Antibody-Drug Conjugate Shows Activity in Heavily Pretreated Bladder Cancer
PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE suggests that the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan is active in patients previously treated with chemotherapy or checkpoint inhibitor therapy for metastatic urothelial cancer. These results from a phase I/II basket study of this agent were presented at the 2019...
Conference Highlights From the 2019 Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Cancers Symposiums
THIS YEAR saw a huge turnout and a large number of scientific abstracts presented at both the 2019 Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium, held on January 17–19, and the 2019 Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium, held on February 14–16, both in San Francisco. The GU Cancers Symposium attracted...
Expert Point of View: Matthew I. Milowsky, MD
FORMAL STUDY discussant Matthew I. Milowsky, MD, of the University of North Carolina, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, said there had been few drug approvals in advanced bladder cancer until 5 new checkpoint inhibitors were approved over the past 2 years. “Although these agents...
Antibody-Drug Conjugate Shows Activity in Heavily Pretreated Bladder Cancer
PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE suggests that the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan is active in patients previously treated with chemotherapy or checkpoint inhibitor therapy for metastatic urothelial cancer. These results from a phase I/II basket study of this agent were presented at the 2019...
Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute Awards Research Grants to Women’s Bladder Cancer Projects
The Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute awarded research grants to four projects that focus on bladder cancer treatments in women and how biology could offer new targets for cancer therapy.The Institute awards grants of $25,000 to $50,000. David McConkey, PhD, Director of the...
EAU 2019: Early Menopause in Smokers May Be Linked to Increased Risk of Bladder Cancer
New research has shown that experiencing menopause before the age of 45 is associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer; this higher risk was even more notable in smokers. The study, which looked at health outcomes in more than 220,000 patients, was presented by Abufaraj et al at the European...
Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, on Urothelial Cancer: Results From a Trial on Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab
Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, discusses phase Ib/II findings on pembrolizumab and lenvatinib given to 20 patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder who had received no prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy (Abstract 11).
Thomas Powles, MD, PhD, on Urothelial Carcinoma: Results From the RANGE Trial on Ramucirumab and Docetaxel
Thomas Powles, MD, PhD, of Queen Mary University of London, discusses phase III study findings on ramucirumab plus docetaxel vs placebo plus docetaxel in patients with advanced platinum-refractory urothelial carcinoma (Abstract 353).
Jason A. Efstathiou, MD, DPhil, on Bladder Cancer: What Is the Best Treatment Option?
Jason A. Efstathiou, MD, DPhil, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the debate over treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer with radical cystectomy vs trimodality therapy.
Brian C. Baumann, MD, on Bladder Cancer: Trial Results on Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy vs Adjuvant Radiotherapy Alone
Brian C. Baumann, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses phase III study findings on adjuvant sequential chemotherapy plus radiotherapy vs adjuvant radiotherapy alone for locally advanced bladder cancer after radical cystectomy (Abstract 351).
2019 GU Cancers Symposium: Adjuvant Sequential Chemotherapy Plus Radiotherapy vs Radiotherapy Alone for Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer
A phase III Egyptian trial presented by Zaghloul et al (Abstract 351) at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium focused on the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer treated with postoperative radiotherapy. Researchers compared postoperative radiotherapy ...
Bladder Cancer: Strategies to Address Checkpoint Inhibitor Failure
CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS have rapidly become the standard of care as second-line treatment, and in some patients first-line treatment, of advanced bladder cancer. However, the majority of patients do not respond and eventually experience disease progression; these patients will need subsequent...
Bladder-Sparing Treatment Regimens for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
In a phase II trial (NRG/RTOG 0712) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Coen et al found that bladder-sparing treatment with twice-daily radiation plus fluorouracil/cisplatin (FCT) or once-daily radiation plus gemcitabine (GD) produced similar distant metastasis-free survival in patients...
FDA Pipeline: What’s New in Biosimilars, Drug Reviews, Designations, and More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued the following new approvals and designations: Approval for Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar The FDA recently approved a pegfilgrastim biosimilar, pegfilgrastim-cbqv (Udenyca). The biosimilar has been approved to decrease the incidence...
Expert Point of View: Shahrokh Shariat, MD
“BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUÉRIN (BCG) failures are quite common, with a 66% recurrence rate at 5 years, and about 25% of patients will have disease progression,” explained formal discussant Shahrokh Shariat, MD, Chair of the Department of Urology at Medical University, Vienna, and Adjunct Professor at...
Pembrolizumab Shows Antitumor Activity in Non–Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
THE ANTI–PROGRAMMED cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to have antitumor activity in patients with high-risk non–muscle invasive bladder cancer who were nonresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), according to the preliminary results of the ...
PURE-01 Trial: Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Carcinoma
In the Italian phase II PURE-01 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Necchi et al found that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) before radical cystectomy in muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma produced complete pathologic response (pT0) in 42% of patients, with pT0 being more common...
Cora N. Sternberg, MD, on Renal and Bladder Cancers: Focus on Immunotherapy
Cora N. Sternberg, MD, of San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital and the Israel Englander Institute of Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell, discusses results from the phase III CheckMate-025 study on nivolumab vs everolimus for mRCC; the CheckMate-214 study on nivolumab, ipilimumab, and sunitinib for treatment-naive advanced or metastatic clear-cell RCC; and immunotherapy for urothelial cancer for both first- line cisplatin-ineligible and second-line therapy after cisplatin chemotherapy.
Ronald de Wit, MD, PhD, on Bladder Cancer: Results From KEYNOTE-057
Ronald de Wit, MD, PhD, of the University Medical Center Rotterdam, discusses phase II findings on the efficacy of pembrolizumab in bacillus Calmette-Guérin–unresponsive bladder cancer with high risk for disease progression.
Outcomes With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Regimens in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
In a single-center analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Peyton et al found that neoadjuvant dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (ddMVAC) produced better outcomes than other standard neoadjuvant regimens in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive...
Recent Drug Approvals and Revisions in Prescribing Information
THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) issued the following approvals and prescribing information revisions in August 2018. Lenvatinib Approved for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma THE FDA approved lenvatinib (Lenvima) for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable...
FDA Updates Prescribing Information for Pembrolizumab and Atezolizumab in Urothelial Carcinoma
On August 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the prescribing information for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to require the use of an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test to determine programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) levels in tumor tissue...
VB4-845 Granted Fast Track Designation by FDA for Treatment of Non–Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to VB4-845 for the treatment of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)–unresponsive, high-grade, non–muscle invasive bladder cancer. VB4-845 is currently being evaluated in a phase III registration...
No Survival Benefit for Atezolizumab inPD-L1–Positive Urothelial Cancer
As reported in The Lancet by Thomas Powles, MD, of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues, the phase III IMvigor211 trial showed no survival benefit for atezolizumab vs physician’s choice of chemotherapy in platinum-treated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial...
Large Disparities in Cancer Mortality Rates Found Among Different Racial/Ethnic Populations in New York State
According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the leading cause of death for Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders in the United States. However, their cancer burden is less than that of non-Hispanic whites and especially non-Hispanic blacks, who bear the most disproportionate share of the...
