Dr. Nanus on Clinical Trials Exploring Immunotherapy in Bladder Cancer

David M. Nanus, MD, medical oncologist, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses ongoing clinical trials exploring immunotherapy agents for the treatment of patients with bladder cancer.

Currently, there is a trial randomizing patients to receive chemotherapy, a PD-1 inhibitor, or a PD-1 agent plus a CTLA-4 inhibitor, Nanus explains. Prior data in melanoma suggest that PD-1 plus CTLA-4 regimens have significant activity; therefore, it is hoped that a similar effect will occur in patients with bladder cancer.

Another interesting area in this field is determining if immunotherapy has a greater benefit in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. Additionally, Nanus questions whether immunotherapy could have a role in patients with superficial bladder cancer. More research is needed to determine what other indications these types of agents could have activity in, he adds.