Dr. Rafii on Future Immunotherapy Approaches for Patients With Bladder Cancer

Saeed Rafii, MD, PhD, medical director, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, United Kingdom, discusses investigational immunotherapy approaches for the treatment of patients with bladder cancer.

Rafii envisions that there will be more clinical trials exploring anti—PD-1 agents in this field. This includes combination studies of PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors, as well as basket trials studying combinations of immunotherapy with olaparib (Lynparza) and EGFR inhibitors. Another ongoing trial is looking at durvalumab compared with chemotherapy.

Results of such studies, which will be announced over the next few years, will explain whether immunotherapy will become a frontline choice and compete with chemotherapy, or could be administered as part of a combination regimen.