Dr. Necchi on Impact of PD-1 Inhibition in Bladder Cancer

Andrea Necchi, MD, a medical oncologist at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, discusses the impact of PD-1 inhibition in bladder cancer as well as the promise with combination strategies.

It is known that treatment with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) alone, as well as other single-agent checkpoint inhibitors, will not significantly improve progression-free survival in patients with bladder cancer, explains Necchi.

There are multiple international, phase I, II, and III combination trials being conducted in the field of bladder cancer, Necchi adds. These are combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with other checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1 agents combined with antiangiogenesis therapy, or checkpoint inhibitors combined with more personalized therapeutic approaches. These studies could provide many new possibilities for patients, and is an advantage and a positive next step for the field, he concludes.

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