Dr. Plimack on Immunotherapy Combinations in Bladder Cancer

Elizabeth Plimack, MD, director of Genitourinary Clinical Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses immunotherapy combinations for patients with bladder cancer.

There are trials that are in development investigating checkpoint inhibitors. For example, one is with an IDO inhibitor epacadostat plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda). There is also an IDO inhibitor being studied in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo) by Bristol-Myers Squibb, adds Plimack. The early phase I data with epacadostat and pembrolizumab was encouraging in terms of efficacy in patients with previously treated bladder cancer. That will be explored going forward.

Another combination is ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab. There are phase I basket data for that combination, but based on the efficacy and the durability of response in those patients, it has been investigated in a phase III trial, as well, explains Plimack. There are additionnal immunotherapy combinations that all need to be investigated further.