‘Increased survival rates’ for bladder cancer patients given immunotherapy drug
Share:
Bladder cancer patients given an immunotherapy drug are a third less likely to see disease come back and are more likely to survive, according to a “game-changer” study. Patients with advanced (muscle-invasive) bladder cancer had significantly less risk of cancer progressing or returning when treated with durvalumab, and were more likely to still be alive two years after treatment.
Experts from the University of Sheffield and Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London included 1,063 patients with operable bladder cancer in their study. Patients were given either standard chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine) and surgery (530 people), or chemotherapy plus durvalumab before surgery and eight cycles of durvalumab after surgery (533).
This is a major breakthrough in the treatment of bladder cancer. For many years, survival rates for advanced bladder cancer have remained stagnant, but our findings offer hope to thousands of patients who face this devastating diagnosis. The final-stage phase 3 clinical trial found patients were 32% less likely to experience cancer recurrence or progression if they had immunotherapy, and were more likely to still be alive after two years.
Overall survival at two years was 82.2% in the durvalumab group and 75.2% in the comparator group. Durvalumab (brand name Imfinzi) is a treatment for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but is also being trialled in other cancers. James Catto, professor of urology at the University of Sheffield and honorary consultant urological surgeon, who co-led the study, said: “This is a major breakthrough in the treatment of bladder cancer.
