Dr. O'Donnell on Ongoing Immunotherapy Trials in Bladder Cancer

Peter O’Donnell, MD, associate professor of medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses ongoing immunotherapy trials in bladder cancer.

Physicians are eagerly anticipating trials of dual immunotherapy to see whether it will improve upon existing standards. There are 2 frontline trials where dual immunotherapy is being examined against chemotherapy as a standard backbone or single-agent immunotherapy, says O’Donnell. Moreover, triplets are being examined to see whether the addition of an immunotherapy agent can outperform a chemotherapy doublet. That could change the frontline standard, notes O’Donnell. Those combinations are on the near horizon, he says.

Aside from immunotherapy, there are many other targeted drugs that are in the pipeline. Even though immunotherapy has gained attention in the field, VEGF-targeted drugs are also being examined. An older trial looked at the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin plus bevacizumab (Avastin), so there may be a role for a VEGF-targeted drug in bladder cancer.