Dr. Sklar on the Role of Nivolumab in Bladder Cancer

Geoffrey Sklar, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Chesapeake Urology Associates, discusses the role of nivolumab (Opdivo) in the treatment of patients with bladder cancer.

Currently, Sklar says, they are using the agent to treat advanced patients, specifically those who have had cystectomy with nodal disease or metastatic disease, and either failed therapy or are not candidates for frontline therapy. However, in the future, Sklar expects that they will be potentially looking at intravesical therapies with these drugs, which are not FDA approved at the present time, though the space for neoadjuvant therapy with these types of drugs is wide open.

According to Sklar, immunotherapy treatment in the non-muscle invasive population is of interest, as well. The question is whether the side effect profile is tolerable for patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and the answers will likely pan out over time. The potential exists right now, he says, but it remains to be seen which specific patient populations these agents will work best in.