GU Cancer Experts Highlight Top Abstracts to Watch During ASCO 2026

With the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, which will take place from May 29 to June 2 in Chicago, Illinois, fast approaching, OncLive® asked expert oncologists in the field of genitourinary (GU) malignancies to share which abstracts they are most looking forward to seeing presented and why.

Our exclusive preview includes commentary from:

• Chandler Park, MD, MSc, FACP, a medical oncologist at Norton Cancer Institute in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Sagar A. Patel, MD, an associate professor and the director of brachytherapy in the Department of Radiation Oncology and an associate professor in the Department of Urology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Stephanie A. Berg, DO, a medical oncologist for the Lank Center of Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Guru P. Sonpavde, MD, the medical director of Genitourinary (GU) Oncology, assistant director of the Clinical Research Unit and the Christopher K. Glanz Chair for Bladder Cancer Research at AdventHealth Cancer Institute in Orlando, Florida.

“This is a rich ASCO 2026 GU program spanning treatment intensification, de-escalation, adjuvant immunotherapy, and emerging biomarker technology — collectively pushing the field forward across prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers,” Park commented.

Read on to hear more of their insights.

Abstract 4513: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) with pembrolizumab or observation for high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma after surgery: Results from the AMBASSADOR randomized trial (Alliance A031501)

Presentation time: May 29, 2026, 4:09 pm CT

Sonpavde: This presentation reports health-related quality of life data from the phase 3 AMBASSADOR trial [NCT03244384] that demonstrated improved disease-free survival [DFS] from adjuvant pembrolizumab [Keytruda] alone, with or without prior cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, for high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma.

Abstract 4506: Perioperative SHR-A2102, a novel nectin-4–targeted antibody-drug conjugate, in combination with adebrelimab for patients (pts) with muscle-invasive bladder cancer: Results from a phase 2/3 study

Presentation time: May 29, 2026, 4:45 pm CT

Sonpavde: This is a report of a randomized phase 2/3 trial [NCT06879145] of SHR-A2102, a nectin-4–directed monoclonal antibody bound to a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload via a cleavable linker, plus adebrelimab [SHR-1316] vs gemcitabine plus cisplatin for the perioperative treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer [MIBC].

Abstract 4507: Enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab (EV+P) vs chemotherapy for previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC): 3. 5-year follow-up and response analyses from the phase 3 EV-302 study

Presentation time: May 29, 2026, 4:57 pm CT

Park: [The phase 3] EV-302 trial [NCT04223856] established enfortumab vedotin-ejfv [Padcev] plus pembrolizumab as a standard first-line treatment for locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer. This update will tell us whether the overall survival [OS] and progression-free survival [PFS] benefits are durable at extended follow-up and whether any new or emerging safety signals have developed with longer treatment exposure.

Sonpavde: This a long-term update of the EV-302 phase 3 trial that established enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab as the preferred first-line therapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma.

LBA4511: Durvalumab monotherapy versus active monitoring for resected primary renal cell carcinoma in RAMPART: An international, phase 3, randomized controlled trial

Presentation time: May 30, 2026, 8:24 am CT

Park: The adjuvant renal cell carcinoma [RCC] landscape currently has one regimen with an OS and DFS benefit, pembrolizumab, which FDA approved based on data from [the phase 3] KEYNOTE-564 trial [NCT03142334].¹ RAMPART Arm B will help determine whether durvalumab [Imfinzi] monotherapy can join that conversation and will also contextualize the added value of combining the anti–CTLA-4 [agent] tremelimumab [Imjudo] with the anti–PD-L1 [drug] durvalumab.

Abstract 5000: Clinico-transcriptomic risk stratification to guide abiraterone treatment intensification in high-risk prostate cancer: A combined analysis of NRG/RTOG 9202, 9413, 9902, and 0521

Presentation time: May 30, 2026, 3:00 pm CT

Patel: A [study] that we as a community are excited about [is being presented by] Krishnan R. Patel, MD, MHS, and is looking at transcriptomic biomarkers and seeing if they can help identify which patients may benefit from abiraterone acetate [Zytiga] or second-generation androgen deprivation therapy [ADT]. Right now, we have very clear clinical buckets [such as] node-positive, low-volume, or high-risk disease, per the NCCN. But the future of prostate cancer is transcriptomic or histopathologic biomarker data. [This abstract] is seeing if some of these available biopsy-based biomarker tools can do a better job identifying who we should be giving intensified ADT with abiraterone. I believe this is going to be the future of our field, and ASCO will have one of the first presentations in the space.

Abstract 5004: A phase 2 trial of androgen deprivation therapy interruption in patients responding exceptionally to androgen receptor pathway inhibitor in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (A-DREAM / Alliance A032101)

Presentation time: May 30, 2026, 4:12 pm CT

Park: This is a de-escalation study—a critically important and underexplored question. For patients who respond exceptionally well, can we offer a meaningful treatment holiday without compromising outcomes? Quality of life implications are significant, as extended ADT carries well-known burdens, including fatigue, sexual dysfunction, metabolic effects, and bone loss.

Abstract 5005: Cognitive effects of darolutamide vs enzalutamide: Results of ARACOG (AFT-47), a randomized clinical trial from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology

Presentation time: May 30, 2026, 4:24 pm CT

Patel: [This is] a really interesting survivorship [presentation] by Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH, looking at the randomized trial of enzalutamide [Xtandi] vs darolutamide [Nubeqa] on cognitive health. This is an exciting study because it's honing in on the survivorship implications of these novel, second-generation drugs.

LBA5007: TALAPRO-3: Talazoparib (TALA) + enzalutamide (ENZA) compared with placebo (PBO) + ENZA for the treatment of patients (pts) with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) harboring homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations

Presentation time: May 30, 2026, 5:12 pm CT

Berg: Positive results were already released [regarding the] primary end point of radiographic progression-free survival from a Pfizer press release in March 2026.² [This study] applies to men with non-BRCA mutations. In a biomarker-selected population, [this regimen] may be appropriate vs a standard androgen pathway inhibitor [ARPI] plus ADT, with/without docetaxel. [This] raises a lot of sequencing questions, [including whether to] use a PARP inhibitor plus an ARPI upfront vs reserving a PARP inhibitor in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer [mCRPC]. OS maturity will be important for subgroup analysis. This [regimen] is also going through the FDA regulatory pathway for approval.

Park: The primary end point was met—a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in risk of disease progression or death in homologous recombination repair [HRR]–mutated metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. [The phase 3] TALAPRO-2 trial [NCT03395197] already established talazoparib [Talzenna] plus enzalutamide as a cornerstone in mCRPC. This study extends that success into the hormone-sensitive space. Importantly, the regimen from the [phase 3] AMPLITUDE study [NCT04497844; niraparib [Zejula] plus abiraterone (Akeega)] received FDA approval in December 2025 for a similar HRR-mutated population.³ TALAPRO-3 now offers a PARP inhibitor option paired with enzalutamide instead, giving clinicians flexibility for patients whose comorbidities favor one androgen receptor pathway agent over another. [I want to see] whether an OS signal emerges at this presentation.

Abstract 4522: Artificial intelligence (AI) augmented analysis of quantitative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) burden and longitudinal kinetics to identify prognostic risk stratification in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC)

Presentation time: May 31, 2026, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm CT (poster session)

Park: Circulating tumor DNA [ctDNA] analysis in RCC is notoriously challenging because renal cell tumors are poor ctDNA shedders. AI augmentation could potentially overcome this limitation and unlock a liquid biopsy-based prognostic tool for a cancer type that has lacked reliable biomarkers. This is an early but important signal for the future of precision oncology in RCC.

Abstract 4568: Avelumab + sacituzumab govitecan (Ave + SG) vs avelumab monotherapy (Ave mono) as first-line (1L) maintenance treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC): Updated subgroup analyses of JAVELIN Bladder Medley based on metastatic sites

Presentation time: May 31, 2026, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm CT (poster session)

Park: The [phase 3] JAVELIN Bladder 100 [NCT02603432] paradigm of platinum [chemotherapy] plus gemcitabine followed by avelumab [Bavencio] maintenance remains a valid category 1 treatment option for select patients—particularly those who cannot receive enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab due to severe peripheral neuropathy, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, and significant liver dysfunction. This study asks whether escalating the JAVELIN maintenance backbone with an antibody-drug conjugate can improve upon what is already an established standard of care for a meaningful subset of urothelial cancer patients.

LBA1: Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) apalutamide (APA) + androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) vs placebo (PBO) + ADT with radical prostatectomy (RP) in high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer (HR LPC/LAPC): Final analysis of the PROTEUS phase 3 study

Presentation time: May 31, 2026, 1:05 pm CT

Berg: Positive results will shift curative intent management of high-risk prostate cancer. [This study] has 2 co‑primary end points: pathologic complete response [pCR] and metastasis‑free survival [MFS], both of these outcomes are associated with long-term cure and clinical decision making. I will be interested in the subgroup analysis, [which could help us identify who will benefit most and if we can avoid overtreatment for some.

Park: This is the highest-profile GU study at ASCO 2026, earning a coveted plenary slot. Perioperative intensification with androgen receptor pathway agents has the potential to redefine how we approach high-risk localized disease. If apalutamide improves both pCR and MFS, it could establish a new standard of care for this patient population—a group where surgical cure remains the goal, but recurrence rates are significant.

Abstract 4514: MAIN-CAV: Phase III randomized trial of maintenance cabozantinib and avelumab versus avelumab after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) in patients (pts) with locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer (la/mUC; Alliance A032901)

Presentation time: June 1, 2026, 8:00 am CT

Sonpavde: This presentation reports outcomes from the prematurely discontinued [for slow accrual] phase 3 MAIN-CAV trial [NCT05092958] that compared maintenance avelumab alone or combined with cabozantinib following platinum-based chemotherapy.

Abstract 4624: Durvalumab (D) in combination with BCG induction and maintenance (I + M) therapy for BCG-naive, high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC): 5-year overall survival (OS) analysis and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from POTOMAC

Presentation time: June 1, 2026, 8:12 am CT

Sonpavde: This presentation reports long-term outcomes including survival and patient-reported outcomes from the phase 3 POTOMAC trial [NCT03528694] that demonstrated improved event-free survival from combining durvalumab [plus] with intravesical induction and maintenance BCG in untreated high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

References

1. FDA approves Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as adjuvant therapy for certain patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following surgery. News release. Merck; November 18, 2021. Accessed May 11, 2026. https://www.merck.com/news/fda-approves-mercks-keytruda-pembrolizumab-as-adjuvant-therapy-for-certain-patients-with-renal-cell-carcinoma-rcc-following-surgery/
2. Talzenna plus XTANDI significantly improves radiographic progression-free survival in metastatic prostate cancer. News release. Pfizer. March 19, 2026. Accessed May 11, 2026. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/talzenna-plus-xtandi-significantly-improves-radiographic
3. FDA approves niraparib and abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for BRCA2-mutated metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. FDA. December 12, 2025. Accessed May 11, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-niraparib-and-abiraterone-acetate-plus-prednisone-brca2-mutated-metastatic-castration